Mumbai: A possibly distressing situation has been developed for the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra as a TikTok star's death in Pune has soared into a political row with the opposition BJP demanding an impartial probe into the case.
Rising pressure on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, BJP leaders have demanded the arrest of state Cabinet Minister Sanjay Rathod, whose name has gathered up vis-a-vis the death of 22-year-old Pooja Chavan.
BJP leaders Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Kirit Somaiya and many others have pointed fingers at state Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod. When questioned by mediapersons, CM of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray guardedly said that an investigation is underway into the matter and the truth will emerge after the investigation is done. On Friday, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had also wrote a letter to the Director-General of Police, Hemant Nagrale, for a probe into the matter besides submitting 14 purported audio-clips that may be linked to Chavan's death.
While Uddhav Thackeray is understood to have sought a report from Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta. Rathod remained incommunicado during the day, fuelling speculation on his fate. BJP leader Chitra Wagh has also urged Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to order a fair probe into the matter as her family was reportedly under pressure.
WHO WAS POOJA CHAVAN
Pooja Chavan hailed from Parli Vaijnath in Beed district and belonged to the nomadic tribal Banjara. She had come to Pune for education purpose. The 22-year-old was active on social media platforms like TikTok where she had good number of followers.
She was attending an English-speaking course and was living with two youth, said to be her brother and his friend. She allegedly died of suicide by jumping off the Heaven Park building in Wanawadi area in Pune on February 8. The Wanawadi Police registered an accidental death case and though they have ruled out anything suspicious about her death, her social media audio-messages are being scanned following the political uproar.
(With inputs from IANS)
