‘Not happy with rangoli pictures’: New detail in Maharashtra doctor suicide case

Maharashtra’s women’s commission chief said that initial findings of the post mortem point that this is a ‘death by suicide’ case.

The 29-year-old doctor who allegedly died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Phaltan last week had an argument with one of the accused, Prashant Bankar, whom she was also in a relationship with, over rangoli photographs clicked during Diwali celebrations, reveals investigation.

According to Rupali Chakankar, Maharashtra’s women’s commission chief, the doctor sent several photographs and text messages to Bankar and even told him she would end her life.(Representational Photo/HT)

Rupali Chakankar, Maharashtra’s women’s commission chief, told media on Monday that the doctor had visited Bankar’s house to celebrate Diwali, during which, an argument over clicking pictures escalated into a major dispute. She said that according to the probe, the doctor had asked Bankar to click pictures of the rangoli she had made, however, she was not happy with the pictures that he took, which eventually turned into an argument.

“The doctor visited Bankar’s house to celebrate Diwali. An argument over clicking photographs escalated into a major argument with the doctor reportedly going to a nearby temple. While Bankar’s father brought her back home, the doctor later went to a lodge where she continued communicating with Prashant via messages throughout the night, but he had switched off his phone,” she said, reported Hindustan Times earlier.

“During the interrogation of the accused, it was revealed that on Laxmi Pujan Day, the doctor asked Prashant to click photographs of the rangoli that she had drawn in front of his house. However, she was not happy with the pictures taken and went to a temple after a heated argument.”

She also said that the doctor sent several photographs and text messages to Bankar and even told him she would end her life. However, Bankar claimed that this was not the first time she had made such threats.

Some police sources also confirmed that there was communication between both of them on the night before when the doctor’s body was found.

Chakankar also said that initial findings of the post mortem point that this is a ‘death by suicide’ case. “Forensic and autopsy reports are awaited,” she said.

The state women’s commission chief also said that even though in her suicide note, the doctor had made sexual assault allegations, no such formal complaint was submitted to the internal complaints committee of the hospital she was working at.

“The ICC under the PoSH Act is active in the hospital and no complaint was filed by the deceased doctor. Her colleagues were unaware if she faced any political or police pressure and harassment. In fact, they all celebrated Diwali together,” she said.

The doctor, who hailed from Maharashtra's Beed district and was posted at a government hospital in Satara district, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night. She accused the sub-inspector of raping her and Bankar of mental harassment, both of whom are currently in police custody.

(With inputs from Shrinivas Deshpande)

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