Police officer, software engineer arrested in Maharashtra woman doctor’s suicide case

“She cried for help, no one listened”: Arrests made in Maharashtra woman doctor’s tragic death

October 26, 2025

Woman doctor’s suicide in Maharashtra — two arrested in Satara case

Maharashtra woman doctor’s suicide: Police sub-inspector, software engineer held

Police sub-inspector (PSI) Gopal Badane, accused in connection with the alleged suicide of a woman government doctor in Maharashtra’s Satara district, was arrested on Saturday evening — hours after his co-accused, software engineer Prashant Bankar, was taken into custody earlier in the day.

According to Satara Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi, Badane surrendered at the Phaltan Rural Police Station late Saturday. Bankar, one of the two men named by the doctor in her suicide note, was arrested from Pune earlier in the morning. He was produced before a Satara district court, which remanded him to four days in police custody.

The woman doctor, a native of Beed district and posted at a government hospital in Satara, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night. In a shocking revelation, she had written a suicide note on her palm, alleging that PSI Badane raped her multiple times and that Bankar mentally harassed her.

Police said a case of rape and abetment of suicide has been registered against both accused. Following the allegations, Badane was suspended from service.

Investigators revealed that Bankar is the son of the landlord of the house where the doctor lived, and that she had spoken to him over the phone shortly before taking her life.

The doctor’s cremation took place on Friday night at her native village in Wadwani tehsil, Beed. Her family members have demanded capital punishment for the accused, alleging that her repeated complaints of harassment were ignored by authorities.

A relative claimed the victim faced pressure from influential individuals to alter medical reports at the hospital where she worked. “Political people in Phaltan often asked her to change medical reports since she was frequently assigned autopsy duties. She had complained several times against the PSI named in her note, but no action was taken,” the family member said.

BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has demanded that the Member of Parliament who allegedly tried to influence the woman doctor be made an accused in the case, though he did not name the leader.

Documents purportedly submitted by the doctor earlier this year indicated she faced threats and taunts from police officials over her work. Her cousins, both doctors, also alleged that she was intentionally given post-mortem duties to harass her.

Family members said the doctor was preparing for her MD entrance exams and had taken an education loan of ₹3 lakh for her MBBS degree, which was yet to be repaid. “She was hardworking and determined to pursue MD in medicine or ENT. Her father is a farmer, and our family supported her education,” her uncle said.

The investigation into the high-profile case continues amid growing calls for justice and accountability from the doctor’s family and political leaders.

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