Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, speaking on Sunday, forcefully declared the death of a woman government doctor in Maharashtra’s Satara district an “institutionalized murder.” He asserted that this tragic event starkly reveals the “inhuman and insensitive” character of the BJP-led state government.
The victim, a doctor originally from Beed district in central Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, was stationed at a government hospital in Satara district. She was discovered deceased in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night.
In a deeply disturbing note left behind, the doctor explicitly accused Police Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane of repeatedly raping her. She also named software engineer Prashant Bankar, alleging he subjected her to severe mental harassment.
Through a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Gandhi conveyed his profound distress, stating that the doctor’s death in Satara, after enduring such egregious acts of rape and harassment, is a tragedy that should deeply disturb the conscience of any civilized society.
He lamented that a promising young doctor, dedicated to healing others, instead became a victim of relentless torture by criminals allegedly operating within a corrupt system, as highlighted by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
“Those who swore to protect the public instead perpetrated the most heinous crimes of rape and exploitation against this innocent woman,” Mr. Gandhi declared. He further alleged that reports indicate influential individuals with BJP ties attempted to pressure her into corrupt activities.
“This is the most despicable example of a power-protected criminal ideology. This wasn’t a suicide; it was an institutionalized murder,” the former Congress president emphasized.
He questioned, “When those in power protect criminals, how can anyone hope for justice?”
According to Mr. Gandhi, the doctor’s untimely death unmasks the “inhuman and insensitive” nature of the current BJP government.
Concluding his statement, Mr. Gandhi affirmed, “We stand in unwavering solidarity with the victim’s family in their quest for justice. For every daughter of India, we demand an end to fear and the swift delivery of justice.”
Authorities have confirmed the arrest of Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane in connection with the doctor’s death.
District Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi reported that Mr. Badane surrendered to the Phaltan Rural Police Station in Satara on Saturday evening before his arrest.
Earlier on Saturday morning, Phaltan police apprehended software engineer Prashant Bankar in Pune. He had also been explicitly named in the doctor’s suicide note alongside Badane.
Mr. Bankar, facing charges of mental harassment and abetment to suicide, was presented before a Satara district court on Saturday and subsequently remanded into four-day police custody.
A case has been formally registered against both individuals in Phaltan, Satara district, encompassing charges of rape and abetment of suicide.
Police investigations reveal that Mr. Bankar is the son of the doctor’s landlord.
Reportedly, the victim had a phone conversation with him shortly before her death.
Sub-Inspector Badane was promptly suspended from active duty once his involvement emerged during the ongoing inquiry.
The doctor’s last rites were performed on Friday night in her native Wadwani tehsil of Beed. Her grieving relatives are vehemently demanding capital punishment for all those accused in the case.
A relative, speaking to a news channel, alleged that the doctor had repeatedly complained about harassment, yet her pleas were consistently ignored.
Furthermore, another relative claimed that the victim faced immense pressure to alter medical reports at the sub-district hospital where she was employed.
“Political figures in Phaltan frequently coerced her to modify medical reports, especially during her regular autopsy duties. Despite her numerous complaints against the PSI named in her note, no action was ever taken,” the relative asserted.