Accused of raping six women, noted Marathi author surrenders

Author Laxman Mane, who has been accused of sexually exploiting six dalit women, surrendered to the police on Monday, a day after the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar asked him to, saying that ‘keeping away from investigations creates a wrong impression’. A noted Marathi writer, Padma Shri awardee and a staunch supporter of Pawar, Mane has been on the run for a week before he was arrested by the Satara police. He will be produced before the court today. “By keeping himself away from the police investigation process, Mane is creating a wrong impression of himself in the public eye. I think he should surrender before the police immediately,” Pawar told Marathi newspaper Sakal, breaking his silence on the incident. [caption id=“attachment_691622” align=“alignright” width=“380”] Laxman Mane. IBN[/caption] The writer has been accused of sexually exploiting six dalit women . All the six women were employed at the Shardabai Pawar Ashramshala at Jakatwadi in Satara, where Mane was the working President. The ashramshala is a residential school for the underprivileged children in Satara. Reports say that Mane  sexually exploited and raped the women after threatening to either sack them or withhold their salaries. The sixth complainant, who filed a case against the writer on 6th April,  is a cook from the institute, the Times of India reported . She alleged that Mane raped her from 1999 to 2005 promising a confirmed job at the institution. According to a DNA report , the Sahitya Akademi winner is said to have close ties with Sharad Pawar and his  family. When Pawar was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mane became the trustee of the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan in Mumbai. Mane established the Bhatake Vimukta Vikas Sanstha where Pawar became the President and is also the trustee of the Sharad Pawar Charitable Trust. Mane said the allegations were ridiculous and he suffered from medical problems. “Hang me publicly if I am guilty,” he told the media.