Maharashtra: Sub-inspector accused of raping Satara doctor who allegedly died by suicide arrested

Two persons, including a police sub-inspector, have been arrested in connection with the alleged death by suicide of a 29-year-old doctor from Satara district in Maharashtra, the Hindustan Times reported.

The doctor, who had been posted at the Phaltan Sub-District Hospital for the last two years, was found dead in a hotel room on Thursday.

According to police, she had checked into the hotel late the previous evening and her rented accommodation was located far from the hospital, The Times of India reported.

In a purported suicide note scribbled on her hand, she accused Prashant Bankar, the son of her landlord, of mental harassment, and Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane of rape, the Hindustan Times reported.

Bankar, a software engineer, was arrested from a farmhouse near Pune on Friday night.

Badane was taken into custody after he surrendered at the Phaltan Rural Police Station, Satara Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The sub-inspector has also been suspended from service after his name surfaced during the investigation.

Meanwhile, the doctor's cousin alleged that she faced pressure from police and politicians to falsify post-mortem reports, The Hindu reported.

“There was a lot of police and political pressure on her to make wrong post-mortem reports,” the cousin told The Hindu. “She had complained about it multiple times, but it was not taken seriously.”

The incident has triggered a political row in the state.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Anand Dubey described the case as “heart-wrenching”.

“We request Devendra Fadnavis to question his ministers after the deteriorating state of law and order,” Dubey told ANI. “Such incidents should not take place in future.”

Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad accused the Maharashtra government of failing to protect women.

“A doctor died by suicide in Satara and named a policeman as having harassed her,” Gaikwad said in a social media post. “If women cannot trust law enforcement officials, what hope is left?”

On Friday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, described the death as “deeply tragic”.

“Whoever is responsible will face the strictest punishment,” Fadnavis was quoted as saying in Mumbai. “The concerned police officers have already been suspended. I urge the opposition not to politicise this sensitive matter.”

Source: Scroll
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