A police sub-inspector and a software engineer have been arrested in connection with the suicide of a woman government doctor in Maharashtra’s Satara district. The 26-year-old doctor was found hanging in a Phaltan hotel room on Thursday, with a suicide note written on her palm naming both accused.
Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane surrendered at Phaltan Rural Police Station on Saturday evening, hours after software engineer Prashant Bankar was arrested in Pune. The doctor’s note alleged Badane had repeatedly raped her while Bankar mentally harassed her.
“The accused have been charged with rape and abetment to suicide,” confirmed Satara SP Tushar Doshi. Bankar has been remanded to four days police custody while Badane was suspended from duty following his arrest.
The tragedy has exposed systemic failures in protecting the victim. Family members revealed she had complained multiple times about harassment. “Political pressure was put on her to change autopsy reports, and her complaints against the PSI were ignored,” a relative stated.
The doctor, who was preparing for MD studies while working to repay education loans, faced professional harassment too. “The hospital deliberately assigned her excessive post-mortem duties to torment her,” claimed her cousins, who are also doctors.
BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has demanded investigation into a local MP’s alleged involvement in pressuring the doctor. The case has sparked outrage over the safety of women professionals and accountability in the police system.
The victim was cremated in her native Beed district Friday night, with relatives demanding capital punishment for the accused.
