Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde has said she tried to meet the family of murdered sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh but was asked not to visit due to the situation in their village in Beed district, reported news agency PTI.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9, allegedly in retaliation for his efforts to prevent extortion attempts against an energy firm linked to a windmill project.