Satara doctor suicide: ‘Instead of acting on complaint, hospital opened probe against her’

Among those sitting cross-legged on the rugs in the middle are the doctor’s farmer parents and younger brother, who look too drained to speak to anyone. A paternal uncle tells The Indian Express, “Since her sudden death, all of us are in a state of shock. We don’t feel up to interacting with visitors, and answering the same questions over and over again.”

The doctor had checked into a hotel in Satara district around 1.30 am on October 24. The police said her body was discovered by the hotel staff around 7.30 am. In a note scribbled on her left palm, she accused a Beed-based sub-inspector, Gopal Badane, of rape, and her landlord’s son, Prashant Bankar, an engineer, of harassing her sexually and mentally. Both the accused have been arrested.

Following her death, a complaint letter submitted by her to the Satara DSP in June this year has surfaced. In the letter, she had accused a former MP’s aides of pressuring her to “change” the medical certificate of an accused, a contractor arrested for financial fraud, from “medically unfit” to “medically fit” so that he could remain in police custody.

Her family has now sought

the setting up of a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations and demanded the “strictest punishment” for all the accused. “Let the truth come out,” says her uncle. Her paternal cousin, who is also a doctor, says, “The authorities concerned did not take cognizance of her June complaint. She had expected that her complaint would be taken seriously. But senior officers ignored it and started a probe against her instead.” Denying this, Satara Civil Surgeon Dr Yuvraj Karpe says, “She sent her June complaint to the Satara DSP directly. Her letter also mentioned how the arrested accused, who was admitted to the hospital, was given a medically fit certificate the next day.”

Soon, Dr Karpe says, he received a complaint from an inspector at the local rural police station, alleging that she was “uncooperative”. He said a two-member committee was formed to probe these allegations.

“The committee spoke to everyone — the staff, the security guards and even the doctor. Their report was submitted in August. It states that she had issues with just one police station. She was advised to cooperate with the police. Everything was normal after that.”

A neighbour, who had come to the house to pay his respects, says he had seen the young woman grow up to become a doctor. “She was a meritorious student. Her death has come as a blow to the entire village.”

“She always dreamt of becoming a doctor. Like me, she was inspired by the other doctors in the family,” says her doctor cousin.

Recalling their last phone conversation on October 19, he says, “We spoke about her post-graduation. She also mentioned feeling pressured, but I never imagined that it would drive her to take this step… I think she felt helpless, frustrated and rejected by the system.”

Stating that his cousin had done nothing wrong, he says, “She has mentioned clearly in her (complaint) letter that if anything happens to her, the police should be held responsible. She felt let down by the entire system.”