Maharashtra doctor death: Landlord's son, who has been named in suicide note, arrested from Pune
Maharashtra doctor death: The police in Maharashtra’s Satara district have arrested one of the two men named in the suicide note of a 28-year-old woman doctor who was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan on Thursday night. The arrested accused, identified as Prashant Bankar, a software engineer from Pune, is the son of the landlord of the house where the deceased doctor lived.
According to officials, Bankar was taken into custody by a team from Phaltan police and brought back to Satara for questioning. He has been booked under charges of abetment to suicide and mental harassment, while a case of rape and abetment to suicide has also been registered against another accused, Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane, who is currently absconding.
The doctor, a native of Beed district, was posted at a government hospital in Phaltan. In a shocking turn, she left behind a suicide note written on her palm, in which she accused Sub-Inspector Badane of repeatedly raping her over the last five months and alleged that Bankar had mentally harassed her. “Badane raped me four times. He subjected me to rape, mental and physical abuse for more than five months,” the note read.
Following the allegations, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed immediate action, after which Sub-Inspector Badane was suspended from service. The police have launched a manhunt to trace and arrest him.
Allegations of political pressure
New details have emerged suggesting that the doctor was under intense police and political pressure in the months leading up to her death. According to sources and family members, she was often coerced by police officials to falsify post-mortem and medical fitness reports in cases involving accused persons or custodial deaths.
A relative revealed that she had even faced intimidation from the aides of an MP after she refused to issue a clean medical report for an arrested accused. In a four-page written reply to the District Medical Council, the doctor stated that two personal assistants of an MP had come to the hospital, used abusive language, and threatened her.
“They told her the MP was angry and demanded that she release the accused immediately. When she refused, they warned her saying, ‘Dekh lenge (We will deal with you),’” the report quoted her as saying. She further clarified that she admitted the accused only because his medical condition was serious, dismissing the police’s claims that she had intentionally delayed his release.
The doctor’s relatives have alleged that despite her multiple complaints to senior officers, no action was taken.
- With inputs from agencies
