A Maratha group organised a march in Pune on Sunday to condemn the murder of Beed Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh and the death of Somnath Suryawanshi in judicial custody in Parbhani.

During the protest, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Suresh Dhas claimed that a meeting discussing an extortion deal in Beed had taken place at the residence of Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde in June. According to Dhas, the meeting was between Munde's aide, Walmik Karad, and officials from a company, news agency PTI reported.