India, March 4 -- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde resigned as minister on Tuesday amid mounting pressure on him to put in his papers over the alleged involvement of his aide in a village head's murder in Maharashtra's Beed district in December.

People aware of the matter said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked Munde to resign after a meeting with his deputy and NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Monday night. The pressure mounted on the government for Munde's removal after a charge sheet was filed in Santosh Deshmukh's murder last week, establishing the alleged involvement of the minister's aide Walmiki Karad.

The pictures and videos of the murder went viral on social media and sparked outrage. Deshmukh was abducted, to...