Panaji: An immediate resignation from Goa's Tourism Minister Mickey Pacheco, a day after being questioned by the Goa Crime Branch about the death of a female friend. The resignation comes after NCP chief Sharad Pawar asked him to step down. The investigations are still on into Nadia Torreado's death.
Goa's Tourism Minister, Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) 46-year-old Mickey Pacheco, was under a cloud ever since 27-year-old Nadia Torreado died under mysterious circumstances.
Commenting on the incident, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said, "Today the Tourism Minister has sent his formal resignation letter which I have forwarded to the Governor, and he has accepted his resignation. Sharad Pawar asked him to resign. We will investigate."
Torreado, a friend of the minister, died on May 30 after consuming rat poison. She was first taken to a local hospital in Goa, then a few days later moved to Mumbai, and finally to Chennai where she died.
Though Torreado's family said that there was no foul play, women's activists group and the Opposition have held Pacheco responsible.
"She consumed it or whether she was fed poison, it has something to do with Mickey Pacheco. This is my contention," said Tara Kerkar of Savera, a women's organization.
Commenting on the incident, Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said, "Resignation doesn't solve the purpose. A full enquiry should be done and the guilty should be punished."
Pacheco has been untraceable since Friday, after he was questioned for nine hours. He did not show up for questioning on Saturday and the police have now issued a lookout notice for him.