Satara: A shocking case has emerged from Maharashtra’s Satara district where a woman doctor allegedly died by suicide, leaving behind a message written on her palm accusing two police personnel of rape and harassment.
The woman, posted at a government hospital in Phaltan, was found hanging in a hotel room late on Thursday night, police said. A note scrawled on her hand reportedly named two officers — Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane and another policeman identified as Prashant Bankar.
According to investigators, the doctor alleged that Badane had raped and sexually harassed her repeatedly over the past five months, while Bankar mentally harassed her. Following the discovery, Satara police registered a case of rape and abetment to suicide against both men. Badane has been suspended pending inquiry.
The woman hailed from Beed district and had been working in Satara for several months. Her body has been sent for post-mortem examination, officials confirmed.
Maharashtra State Women’s Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar said strict action will be taken against those named in the note. “Those responsible will not be spared,” she stated, adding that she had directed the police to act swiftly.
The deceased doctor’s cousin alleged that she had been under severe pressure from some police and political quarters to manipulate mortem reports. “My sister was being harassed and pressured. She should get justice,” he told ANI.
The incident has triggered widespread outrage across Maharashtra. Opposition leader Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar slammed the state government, accusing it of shielding errant police officers. BJP state women’s wing chief Chitra Wagh said a team had been constituted to trace and arrest the accused.
Police said further investigation is underway and forensic reports are awaited. The case has reignited debate over police accountability and protection of women within the system.