Techie named by woman doctor in suicide note held from Pune, sent to 4-day police custody
He said a team of Phaltan police arrested Prashant Bankar, one of the two men named in the suicide note written on the doctor’s palm, in the morning in Pune, about 125 kilometers from Satara.
Bankar, who was accused of mentally harassing the victim and is now accused of suicide, was later produced in the Satara district court and sent to police custody for four days, according to the official.
The doctor, who hails from Beed district in central Maharashtra’s Marathwada region and is posted at a government hospital in Satara district, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night.
In her suicide note written on her palm, she claimed that police inspector (PSI) Gopal Badane raped her many times and software engineer Bankar mentally abused her.
A case of rape and abetting suicide was filed against the duo in Phaltan of Satara district. According to the police, Bankar is the son of the owner of the house where the doctor lives. He allegedly called her on the phone and chatted with her before taking his own life.
Police said sub-inspector Badane, who has not yet been arrested, was suspended from duty after his name came to light during the investigation.
Meanwhile, the doctor was cremated at his hometown in Beed’s Wadwani tehsil on Friday night.
Relatives are demanding the death penalty for the defendant in the case.
According to a relative who spoke to a news channel, the woman repeatedly complained about harassment, but her complaints were ignored.
Another relative claimed that the victim was pressured to change his medical reports at the district hospital where he worked.
“Political figures in Phaltan often asked him to change medical reports as he was on post-mortem duty regularly. He had complained against the PSI (mentioned in the note) many times, but his complaints were not investigated,” the relative said.
The relative said, “It is not enough for the defendant to just be caught. He needs to be hanged to provide justice to the doctor and his family.”
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve lashed out at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the house portfolio, over the suicide of the doctor and the name of a police officer emerging in the case.
Danve wrote on
Danve appealed to National Commission for Women chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar to intervene in the case.
BJP MLA Suresh Dhas demanded that an MP be charged for allegedly trying to put pressure on a woman doctor in the case.
“The investigation will reveal who the MP and his aides were involved in threatening him. If they are involved, whoever they are, they should be charged in the case,” said the MLA from Ashti in Beed district.
According to the female doctor’s alleged response to officials in Satara district earlier this year after a junior police officer lodged a complaint against her, she was threatened by police officials for her modus operandi and was also ridiculed for crime in her hometown, Beed.
One of his relatives claimed that he often faced pressure from the police to change autopsy reports and also to change medical test reports of arrested persons brought to the government hospital.
Dhas also demanded an independent investigation into her death and action against those who ignored her complaints in the past.
Majalgaon MLA and NCP leader Prakash Solanke met the family members of the doctor, who demanded formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.
They said he was mentally strong and would not commit suicide unless he faced serious abuse.
The woman’s two cousins, who are doctors, claimed that the hospital management gave her autopsy duties just to harass her.
According to what the woman’s family said, she wanted to take a medical school course and was preparing for it.
His uncle told PTI that the loan of Rs 3 lakh taken for the MBBS course has not been repaid yet.
“His father is a farmer and he is not an educated person. I am a teacher and I took him to Beed for education…. He did not want to stop in MBBS but wanted to continue as a medical doctor in medicine, ENT or non-clinical branches,” he said.
