Maharashtra doctor’s death: Sub-Inspector, techie arrested

Police have arrested Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane in connection with the death of a woman government doctor in Satara district of Maharashtra, officials said.

District Police Superintendent Tushar Doshi said Badane surrendered at Phaltan Rural Police Station in Satara on Saturday evening, October 25, 2025, and was subsequently arrested.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, October 25, 2025, a team of Phaltan police arrested software engineer Prashant Bankar, whom the doctor had named along with Badane in a note from Pune.

Accused of mentally abusing the victim and abetting suicide, Bankar was produced before the Satara district court on Saturday, October 25, 2025, and remanded him to four-day police custody.

Also Read | Maharashtra leaders call for SIT, independent inquiry into woman doctor’s death

The doctor, who hailed from Beed district in central Maharashtra’s Marathwada region and was posted at a government hospital in Satara district, was found dead on Thursday night, October 23, 2025.

In a note written on her palm, she alleged that Deputy Police Inspector 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 he died, they said.

Sub-Inspector Badane was suspended from duty after his name came to light during the investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, the doctor was cremated at his hometown in Beed’s Wadwani tehsil on Friday night, October 24, 2025.

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.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve accused former BJP MP Ranjitsingh Naik Nimbalkar of pressuring the doctor once in the past. However, Nimbalkar denied the allegation, saying there was no truth to the allegation and his name was deliberately included in the case.

BJP MLA Suresh Dhas demanded that the MP who allegedly tried to put pressure on the woman doctor be charged in the case. However, he did not name any leaders.

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.

The woman’s two cousins, who are doctors, claimed that the hospital management gave her autopsy duties just to harass her.

According to the victim’s family, he wanted to pursue a medical doctor (Doctor of Medicine) course and was preparing for it.

His uncle said that the loan of Rs 3 lakh taken for MBBS course has not been repaid yet PTI.

“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.

(Those under threat can call helplines: Connecting NGO, 1800 843 4353 (Toll Free)/9922001122, Daily: 12 noon to 8pm, Pune)

(Those who are in distress or having suicidal thoughts are encouraged to seek help and counseling by calling the helpline numbers here.)

It was published – 26 October 2025 11:32 IST