20 September,2026 02:21 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pankaja Munde. File Pic
Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde on Saturday said she had no doubts about the circumstances surrounding the death of her father and BJP leader Gopinath Munde, and asked Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to provide details if he had any additional information about the 2014 road accident.
Pankaja Munde was responding to remarks made by Thackeray earlier this week, when he referred to the contributions of Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde to the BJP in Maharashtra and said that both leaders were no longer alive.
Thackeray had also said that "the mystery surrounding Gopinath Munde's death has not yet been unravelled."
Pankaja Munde said her father's death in a road accident in Delhi in 2014 remained a source of pain for her, but added that she did not have doubts about what had happened.
"If Uddhav Thackeray ji has said that he feels there is a mystery surrounding this and if he has some additional information about it, then he should clarify it. Certainly, nobody will remain silent on this," she said.
Gopinath Munde, a senior BJP leader and then Union rural development minister, died on June 3, 2014, after his car was involved in a collision in central Delhi while he was travelling to the airport. The CBI later took over the investigation.
Pankaja said she had earlier sought a CBI inquiry into her father's death and had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally look into the matter.
"After a complete inquiry was conducted, I do not think, even after 12 years, that I have any doubts in my mind," she added.
The CBI, which took over the case in 2014, ruled out foul play and concluded that Gopinath Munde died from injuries sustained in the road accident. The agency subsequently filed a chargesheet against taxi driver Gurvinder Singh for alleged rash and negligent driving.
Gopinath Munde was travelling to Delhi airport when his official vehicle was hit by another car at the Prithviraj Road-Tughlak Road roundabout on June 3, 2014.
He was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences after the accident. Medical findings cited at the time said he suffered serious injuries, including to his neck and liver, and died from shock and haemorrhage.
The CBI investigation examined possible leads and allegations of foul play before ruling out a criminal conspiracy in his death, according to its findings reported in October 2014.
Pankaja said her father was respected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
She expressed confidence that appropriate action would be taken if any new information emerged concerning the circumstances of his death.
(With inputs from PTI)
