Woman withdraws rape complaint against Dhananjay Munde

Mumbai: The woman who had accused Maharashtra cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde of rape has withdrawn her complaint, a senior official said on Friday.

A written complaint had been given to the Mumbai police, however no FIR had been registered. With the woman withdrawing the case, the matter will be closed.

“The woman has given us a written statement saying that she wanted to withdraw the complaint,” said the officer.

The woman mentioned that she was upset her complaint was being used for political reasons, he added. The complainant has been asked to submit a notarized affidavit in this regard.

The complainant was the sister of a woman with whom Munde was in a consensual relationship with. She had approached the police on January 11 accusing the social justice minister of rape and sexual assault on the pretext of marriage.

The complaint had been given to the Oshiwara police where an ACP rank officer, Jyotsna Rasam, recorded her statement.

Munde had denied the rape charges. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had said it was a grave allegation but they would wait for the enquiry report.

Soon after her complaint, BJP leader Krishna Hegde and MNS worker Manish Dhuri approached the police saying the complainant had been stalking them and had tried to honey-trap them.