Another shocking reveal in Maharashtra doctor suicide, cousin alleges second note

The woman doctor's cousin now alleged procedural lapses following her death, claiming that the postmortem didn't take place till 6 am.

A series of claims and counterclaims, including allegations of rape and pressure to fabricate postmortem reports, have emerged following a doctor’s suicide in Maharashtra’s Satara. In the latest development, the doctor’s cousin has alleged procedural lapses in the investigation and even suggested the possibility of “another suicide note.”

The cousin had also claimed that the woman doctor was pressured into making false wrong postmortem reports and forge fitness certificates. (PTI/representative )

The 29-year-old government doctor triggered shock waves through Maharashtra after a note found on her hand alleged that she was raped more than once by police sub-inspector (PSI) Gopal Badane, and harassed by her landlord's son Prashant Bankar. However, Bankar's family alleges that the doctor named him in the note out of spite for rejecting her marriage proposal.

'No postmortem till 6 am'

The woman doctor died, allegedly by suicide, late Thursday night in a hotel room. Her cousin has now alleged procedural lapses following her death, claiming that the postmortem didn't take place till 6 am. "When she died, there was no one to perform her postmortem till 6 am. They brought her dead body from her residence to the hospital in our absence. All this should have happened in front of the family members," the cousin was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The cousin had also claimed that the woman doctor was pressured into making false wrong postmortem reports and forge fitness certificates. "She was under a lot of political and police pressure for the last year. Medical staff at the hospital are also involved...She was being forced to perform more and more postmortems despite other officers being present at the hospital," the cousin added.

Counter claims against the doctor by cops

While the doctor's family claims that she was forced to forge postmortem reports, police instead allege that the doctor had been "reluctant to conduct pre-arrest medical examinations at night" and didn't cooperate in issuing fitness certificates for the accused brought to the hospital.

She frequently declared accused persons unfit “without sufficient grounds,” and also refused to be available round-the-clock for medical formalities, prompting the police to seek a replacement, senior officer alleged.

Another suicide note, claims cousin

When the doctor was found dead last week, a note written in Marathi was found on her palm, which accused Phaltan City PSI Gopal Badane of raping her four times, and her landlord's son, Prashant Bankar of physically and mentally harassing her for five months.

Days later, the doctor's cousin suggested the possibility of there being another suicide note, citing his sister's unrelenting fight against the pressure she had been facing at work. "We believe that when her dead body was taken to the hospital, she must have left behind another suicide note. She fought hard and wrote 4-page complaint letters. She cannot die with just a little note on her palm," the cousin reportedly said.

Gopal Badane's mention in doctor's earlier letter

The woman doctor had written to the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) back in June this year, detailing how she was "forced" to issue fitness certificates for accused individuals brought to the hospital. Gopal Badane was among the people she named in the letter.

A month after her letter, the Phaltan police officials also submitted a written complaint to the Satara Civil Surgeon, accusing the doctor of deliberately issuing "not fit” certificates, which led to a delay in their arrests and custodial remand. After the doctor's June complaint was ignored, she even filed an RTI appeal on August 13, seeking details of the action taken on her earlier letter.

Both Gopal Badane and Prashant Bankar were arrested on Saturday, October 25.

Clean chit to BJP leader named in doctor's letter

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday gave a clean chit to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Madha Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar in the doctor's suicide case. The BJP leader's name had surfaced in the case after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve shared an earlier letter by the deceased woman doctor.

The letter purportedly accused Naik Nimbalkar of using pressure for issuing medical fitness certificates. “Is the chief minister himself an investigating officer now? Without waiting for the police report, how can he announce that someone is innocent?,” asked Danve, after Fadnavis gave clean chit to the leader.

Apart from Naik Nimbalkar, MLA Sachin Patil was also given a clean chit in connection with the Satara doctor’s suicide case.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).