MUMBAI: Satara police on Friday arrested Prashant Bankar, one of the accused in the rape and harassment case linked to the suspected suicide of a lady doctor in Maharashtra, while the main accused, suspended PSI Gopal Badane, continues to remain absconding.
A 26-year-old woman doctor in Phaltan, Satara district, Maharashtra, died by suicide after leaving a seven-line note on her palm. In it, she accused police sub-inspector Gopal Banade of repeatedly raping and sexually exploiting her, and alleged that her landlord’s son, Prashant Bankar, harassed and tortured her. She also stated that both mentally tortured her for four months. It was reported that she spoke to Prashant Bankar shortly before taking her life.
Following the incident and public outrage, Satara district police formed two teams, one of which arrested Prashant Bankar from a friend’s farmhouse in Satara on Saturday morning. Bankar is set to be produced in court, while the main accused, PSI Gopal Badane, remains absconding.
The suicide note stated that PSI Gopal Badane raped her four times. It also alleged that, besides being sexually assaulted by the police officer, she was pressured by powerful individuals, including an MP and his aides, to issue fake medical fitness certificates for the accused. She wrote that the harassment escalated when she refused to comply.
Ambads Danave, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC and leader of the Opposition, state legislative council, sharing the complaint letter of a lady doctor on the social media platform X, said that the lady doctor has ended her life due to the failed and corrupt system. The letter shared by Danve revealed that despite repeatedly complaining to senior officers by the deceased lady doctor to the Superintendent of Police (SP) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), no action was taken against the culprit.
He said that the lady doctor had complained several times about how she was harassed and tortured by being called and pressuring her to change postmortem reports and giving fake fitness certificates.
‘The local Lok Sabha MP and BJP MLA are also harassing this lady doctor; therefore, the call records of this doctor and their conversation have to be probed to get the truth and facts of this case. The call records' details will reveal many things. But Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies are busy in politics and buying votes by distributing lollipops and chocolates. The ruling party beats drums about their Ladli Bahin scheme, but no sister is safe and secure in Maharashtra; this is the harsh reality of the state,” Danve alleged.
