Mumbai Court Hears Plea Linked to 2021 Death of Young Woman

In a significant development, the father of a 23-year-old woman who died in 2021 after falling from her Pune residence has approached the Bombay High Court. He seeks to be heard before any decisions are made regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by BJP leader Chitra Wagh, which alleges a connection between state cabinet minister Sanjay Rathod and his daughter's death. The case gained traction in February 2021 when photographs of the woman with Rathod and several audio clips surfaced, prompting public demands for an investigation. At the time of the incident, the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, led by Uddhav Thackeray, was in power. Following the political upheaval and the split of the Shiv Sena in 2022, Rathod aligned with the Eknath Shinde faction and is now part of the ruling government alongside Wagh's BJP. The father of the deceased has expressed concerns that the ongoing media attention is damaging his family's reputation, particularly affecting his four daughters' matrimonial prospects. During a recent court session, the judges voiced their frustration over the misuse of PILs, while public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar noted that Rathod was in Nagpur at the time of the incident. A forensic report indicated that the voice in the viral audio was "similar" to Rathod's but not conclusively identical, leading to his exoneration. The High Court has scheduled a hearing for the father's plea on September 2.