Maharashtra doctor suicide: 28-year-old called, exchanged text messages with accused before ending life, say police
A 28-year-old woman doctor in Satara allegedly died by suicide after calling accused software engineer Prashant Bankar.
The 28-year-old woman doctor, who allegedly took her own life in Maharashtra's Satara district, had spoken to one of the accused on a phone call and exchanged text messages with him shortly before she committed suicide, PTI reported, citing police officials.
The doctor, posted at a government hospital in Phaltan, was found hanging inside a hotel room in the town on Thursday night.
In her suicide note written on her palm, she alleged that police sub-inspector Gopal Badane raped her on multiple occasions, and software engineer Prashant Bankar mentally harassed her.
“The woman lived as a tenant in a flat owned by Bankar's father,” a senior police official told PTI.
She had called Prashant Bankar, who works in Pune, over phone before ending her life, and the two had also exchanged chat messages on mobile phone, he added.
Sub-inspector Badane was suspended from service after his name came up during the probe, the official said, as reported by PTI.
“A case of alleged rape and abetment to suicide has been registered against Badane and Bankar,” he added.
No arrest has been made in the case yet.
Earlier in the day, a relative of the doctor alleged that she was frequently pressured by the police to alter medical reports, both in instances of unnatural deaths and when detainees were brought to the hospital for examination.
‘Political pressure on her’: Victim's relative
On Satara woman doctor's death, allegedly by suicide, her cousin brother said, “There was a lot of police and political pressure on her to make wrong mortem reports. She tried to complain about it. My sister should get justice.”
Crime against women: What does NCRB data state?
India recorded nearly 4.5 lakh cases of crimes against women in 2023, showing a slight rise compared to the previous two years, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report.
The data, compiled from police stations across all states and Union Territories, reflects the national crime rate. The report notes that 4,48,211 cases were registered in 2023, up from 4,45,256 in 2022 and 4,28,278 in 2021.
(With inputs from PTI)