Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod resigns

Maharashtra Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod on Sunday submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray amid controversy in death by suicide of a 23-year-old Pune woman, "I have submitted my resignation to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray," Rathod told reporters outside Varsha, the official residence of the CM.  "There has been a lot of dirty politics over the issue of the woman's death," Sanjay Rathod said, adding he has quit the ministry so that the truth can come out and said he had resigned to facilitate a free and fair probe.

The BJP has alleged that the deceased woman was in a relationship with Rathod and he should be booked in the case. Several audio clips related to the case have gone viral in the past few days and the BJP claims that one of the persons in an audio clip is Rathod, who has been insisting on his innocence.Sanjay Rathod was facing allegations of complicity in the death of 23-year-old Pooja Chavan, a resident of Beed district.Pooja Chavan had died after falling from a building on February 8, and Pune Police had said they were probing the suicide angle. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis said the resignation of the minister wasn't enough and demanded that an FIR should be filed against him. The BJP's women's wing staged a protest against Rathod last week.