Sexual harassment claims politically motivated to destroy career: Ex- Maharashtra min

On Thursday, Maharashtra BJP vice-president had tweeted a photo of a complaint letter of a woman who alleged Sanjay Rathod of sexually harassing her for re-employing her husband

A day after allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against former Maharashtra forest minister Sanjay Rathod, the Shiv Sena legislator dismissed the charges and said they were politically motivated to destroy his social and political career.

In February, Sanjay Rathod, a four-term Shiv Sena legislator, was linked to the death by suicide of a young woman from Pune. (HT File)

In February, Rathod, a four-term Sena legislator, was linked to the death by suicide of a young woman from Pune. The incident had led to his resignation from the cabinet. While he is trying to regain the lost cabinet berth, fresh allegations have surfaced against him.

On Thursday, Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president Chitra Wagh tweeted a photo of a complaint letter of a woman who alleged Rathod of sexually harassing her for re-employing her husband at an organisation that was headed by the former minister. Her husband reportedly claimed that his colleague in the school also got threatening messages and a complaint was registered with the police.

Terming the allegations as serious, Wagh had sought action against Rathod.

Speaking to media persons in Yavatmal on Friday, Rathod said, “The complainant’s husband was recruited as a teacher on a temporary basis in a Yavatmal school. However, he resigned in 2017. But since March, he has been requesting [the authorities] to take him back on the job. However, the school administration informed him that the matter pertaining to the recruitment was sub-judice.”

“Later, I started getting messages from unknown numbers threatening to destroy my social and political career, and mentioning that they have the support of my political opponents. Why did he keep quiet for four years from 2017 and woke up now all of a sudden? So, all these allegations are baseless, politically motivated and made out of frustration,” he added.

In February too, Wagh had campaigned for Rathod’s removal after his name cropped up in the suicide case. The woman, a resident of Beed, had died by suicide at a flat in Pune’s Hadapsar. After her death, several photos and audio clips surfaced, allegedly linking Rathod to her death. Twenty days after he came under the scanner, Rathod resigned on February 28