A Goa minister resigns hours after the Congress named him in a 'sex scandal'

Milind Naik, Goa's urban development and social welfare minister, resigned on Wednesday evening, hours after state Congress leaders accused him of being involved in a "sex scandal."

Late on Wednesday night, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, "He (Naik) has tendered his resignation for a free and fair investigation and I have accepted it. Whatever proof the Congress has given will be investigated."

He said that Naik will put his side forth and "fight" at a personal level. "The allegations made against him are personal and what he will do about it will be a subject of his personal decision," said Sawant.

"Whatever needs to be investigated at the government level will be done 100 percent," Sawant said. He said the ministerial post earlier held by Naik will remain vacant.

Naik was named as the minister implicated in a "sex scandal" by Goa Pradesh Congress president Girish Chodankar on Wednesday. Chodankar claimed he abused his position and sexually exploited a Bihar woman.

Chodankar said on November 30 that a minister in Sawant's administration was involved in a "sex scandal" and that he would give the BJP government 15 days to take action against the minister. Chodankar had threatened to name the minister if the administration did not remove him from the Cabinet by the end of the fortnight.

In the run-up to the legislative assembly elections in February 2022, Naik's resignation could be a big embarrassment for the BJP government in Goa. Naik, who is 58 years old, has served as a three-time MLA and as the minister of electricity and housing in 2012. In South Goa, he represents the Mormugao assembly constituency.

A woman submitted a case in Bihar on December 10 alleging Congress leader Sankalp Amonkar and other South Goa party employees of extortion, sexual harassment, and criminal conspiracy.

The accused reportedly made a video and audio of her become viral on social media, according to the case filed in Bihar. She also accused them of extortion, sexual harassment, and Information Technology Act violations. The investigation was transferred to the Goa Police on Tuesday after a new FIR was filed on Friday.

South Goa Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dhania said, "We received the complaint last evening and the FIR has been registered at Mormugao Police Station. It is a complaint of extortion, stalking, criminal conspiracy and sections of the Information Technology Act." On Wednesday, he stated that the inquiry into the issue would begin immediately.

Meanwhile, Amonkar and other Congress leaders filed a complaint against Naik at the Panaji women's police station on Wednesday, claiming that the minister had sexually harassed the woman and forced her to have an abortion based on cell phone records and other evidence.

"We have submitted all the evidence we had against Naik including the woman's original phone and a copy. The victim has turned hostile and she was forced to file the complaint against us. I am ready to cooperate with the police," Amonkar told reporters.

According to Amonkar, the woman came him in November 2019 and stated she was being exploited but was afraid to report it. He stated that he had assured her of all assistance, but that she was required by law to file a complaint. "She showed us the WhatsApp chats, video and audio and when I first saw it I was very angry. She said she was used, exploited, promised employment and threatened," said Amonkar. 

He stated that she had recorded a statement on her phone and that she had given him her original phone, which had her whatsapp chats, videos, and audio, and that she had asked him to submit a complaint on her behalf. He claimed, however, that she had returned to him five months prior and asked him to return her phone because she was afraid for herself and her child. He claimed that the woman and the minister had been exchanging texts since 2015-16.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Amonkar released an audio recording of a man and woman conversing, claiming it was Naik speaking to the woman. He also provided screenshots of the WhatsApp conversations the woman had stored on her phone, which he said she had saved.

Mahila Congress president Beena Naik had said hours before Naik resigned, "The victim was widowed, the minister took advantage of that and had a relationship with her without her consent. Asking the victim to abort a fetus without her consent, is the murder of the baby. It's a case of rape because it's without the consent of the lady. If the government does not act against him in the next two days, all of us ladies will march to his house and make sure he is pulled out of his house. He should be removed from his position and made to sit at home."

Amonkar ran for the Congress in the Mormugao constituency in the 2017 assembly elections, but was defeated by Naik by a razor-thin margin of 140 votes.

Sadanand Tanavade, the head of the Goa BJP, said after Naik's departure that the choice to quit was his own.

"He has resigned willingly to enable a free and fair investigation in the case. Anyone can make allegations. Whether they are true or not will be known after the investigation is carried out," said Tanavade.

Chodankar stated on Tuesday that he has informed the identity of the concerned minister to the Governor of Goa.

On Wednesday, speaking at the Congress House in Panaji, Chodankar said, "Whether it's a crime or not is a different issue. But a minister is misusing his position and sexually exploiting a woman. Such a minister is a disgrace to Goa and all Goans. He should immediately be sacked and this government needs to show the people of Goa that ministers like Milind Naik who exploit women will not be spared."

Chodankar claimed the woman is from Bihar and begged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to give her the confidence she needs to make a charge against Naik.