Maharashtra Forest Minister Quits, BJP Alleges He’s Linked To Suicide Case

Maharashtra Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod has resigned from his post after the opposition BJP linked him to a 23-year-old woman’s alleged death by suicide in Pune. He said he has resigned because of “dirty politics”.

The woman, Pooja Chavan, native of Maharashtra’s Beed district, had been living in Pune with her brother and his friends to pursue an English-speaking course. The police said the woman had allegedly died by suicide on February 8.

Two days after her death, an audio clip surfaced on social media in which two men are talking about the woman’s death. The BJP claims one of the men in the audio clip is Mr Rathod.

Mr Rathod has denied the charge.

The police last week said though she appeared to die by suicide, they were investigating it as a criminal case.