Pune’s Gokhale Institute controversy: Milind Deshmukh removed from SIS secretary post

The Servants of India Society (SIS) at its council meeting on Friday removed Milind Deshmukh as the secretary and decided to make president Damodar Sahoo as incharge of the headquarters in Pune till the annual session of the Society scheduled during the second week of June 2025.

Deshmukh was given judicial custody by the court after his police custody ended today.

“There are many issues going on between Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) and the SIS. In the light of repeated media coverage and narratives, the Council took the decision today. A three-member committee was formed to look into the financial transactions and give suggestions to the president. The GIPE in a press statement accused the SIS head of misusing funds for personal legal battle which is not true,” Sahoo said.

The Deccan police had lodged an FIR on April 4 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 34, 406, 409 and 420 against SIS secretary Deshmukh and another person in the case.

There has been a dispute between the SIS, the parent body, and the GIPE following the arrest of the SIS secretary for an alleged fund diversion.