Private Complaint Seeks Probe Into Pune Woman's Death

A private criminal complaint was filed in a Pune court on Friday in connection with the death of a 23-year-old woman in Pune's Hadapsar area.

The opposition BJP has been demanding the resignation of Shiv Sena leader and forest minister Sanjay Rathod, whose name has been linked to the case. Mr Rathod has denied the allegations.

The woman died after falling from the building where she was living on February 8.

Bhakti Pandhare, a lawyer and activist, filed a private criminal complaint through advocate Vijay Thombre in the Pune Lashkar Court against unknown persons.

The complaint claimed that the case is being discussed in the media but the police were not taking any action.

It was suspected that the woman was killed or was driven to commit suicide, it said.

"Several audio clips of the deceased woman are doing rounds on social media and big names have come up in these conversations. The death was suspicious and a detailed probe is needed," the complaint stated.

A private complaint is filed when police can not conduct a probe without court's orders or if the probe is not satisfactory. A court can call for a report or ask police to conduct probe in such cases.

The court admitted the case and the matter is kept for orders on March 5, advocate Thombre said.