PUNE: One of the two men allegedly linked to the death by suicide of the 29-year-old Satara doctor has been arrested, while the other, a police officer, is still at large. The doctor, posted at the Phaltan Sub-District Hospital, was found hanging in her hotel room in Phaltan on Thursday.
In a suicide note inscribed on her hand, she accused Prashant Bankar of physical and mental harassment, and police sub-inspector Gopal Badne of sexual assault and rape. Police arrested Bankar, a software engineer and son of the doctor’s landlord, from a farmhouse near Pune on Friday night. According to the police, the doctor and Bankar were romantically involved months before her death.
The case has triggered outrage across Maharashtra after the doctor’s suicide note surfaced. In complaints to the police administration, she had also alleged coercion from the Satara police and a member of parliament, to fudge medical records and autopsy reports so that police could easily secure custody of suspects in various cases.
On Friday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis described the doctor’s death as “deeply tragic”. Addressing the media after attending the Hind Di Chadar – Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji’s 350th Shahidi Samagam in Mumbai, Fadnavis said, “Whoever is responsible will face the strictest punishment. The concerned police officers have already been suspended. I urge the opposition not to politicise this sensitive matter.”
The investigation into the doctor’s death has revealed that the deceased and Bankar had been close for several months but their relationship soured in recent weeks. A senior police officer said, “Their chats and call records show she was very possessive, and after Bankar started distancing himself, they argued frequently.”
Bankar’s sister, who asked not to be named, claimed that in October, the doctor had proposed marriage to her brother through a text message. He turned her down, saying he regarded her as an elder sister. “Out of anger, she mentioned his name in the suicide note,” she alleged.
The sister claimed the two of them grew close again in the last month, when Bankar was suffering from dengue and the doctor treated him. “A day before of her suicide, she made frequent and desperate calls to Bankar. “We have handed over screenshots of the calls and messages to the police,” she said.
Police said that after the fallout, Bankar’s father had allegedly asked Badne to intervene. The police officer was known to the Bankars as well as the doctor as he hailed from Beed district, just like the deceased.
The case has taken a political turn after it emerged that the deceased doctor, in her earlier submission to a committee investigating her harassment charges, had claimed she was asked by the personal assistants of a member of parliament (MP) to “cooperate” in official work. Although she did not name the MP, opposition leaders have accused former BJP MP from Madha, Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar, of exerting pressure on her.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former opposition leader Ambadas Danve alleged that Ranjitsinh’s brother, Abhijit Naik Nimbalkar, was influencing officials in Phaltan. “As per our information, Abhijit Naik Nimbalkar is putting political pressure on police stations and administrative offices to get work done in his favour. The CM also holds the home portfolio. How can police work under political pressure,” Danve said, while addressing the media on Saturday.
Refuting the allegations, former MP Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar said, “The opposition is making baseless claims. Neither I nor my staff have ever pressured any officer. As public representatives, we often contact officials regarding citizens’ issues, but that does not mean we misuse our position.”
Police said they are searching for police-sub-inspector Gopal Badne, named as a co-accused in the case. He has been charged with rape and abetment of suicide. Meanwhile, Prashant Bankar has been charged with physical and mental harassment and remanded to police custody till October 28.