A woman doctor in Maharashtra’s Satara district died by suicide on Thursday night after allegedly being raped and harassed by a police sub-inspector over several months.

The 26-year-old doctor, who worked at the Phaltan sub-district hospital, left a message written on her left palm accusing police sub-inspector (SI) Gopal Badne of raping her four times and mentally abusing her. She also named another officer, Prashant Bankar, for harassment.

In the note written on her palm, the victim said: “Police inspector Gopal Badne is the reason I died. He raped me four times. He subjected me to rape, mental and physical abuse for more than five months.”

Following her death, Badne was suspended, and investigations were launched into her allegations.

Months before her death, the doctor had written a detailed letter to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at Phaltan, dated June 19, accusing Badne and two other officers, Sub-Divisional Police Inspector Patil and Assistant Police Inspector Ladputre, of harassment.

In her letter, she said she was “under extreme stress” and requested that “serious action be taken against the guilty officers.”

According to sources, Badne’s suspension came following orders from Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The suicide triggered a sharp political reaction in Maharashtra.
Congress leader Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar criticised the government, saying, “When the protector becomes the predator! The duty of the police is to protect, but if they themselves are exploiting a female doctor, how will justice be served? Why was no action taken when this girl had previously lodged a complaint?”

He also demanded the dismissal of the accused officers, adding,“Merely ordering an inquiry in this case is not enough. Those who ignored her earlier complaint should face action.”

Chitra Wagh, BJP MLC and State Women President, called the incident “unfortunate” and said that an FIR process was underway.“One of the accused is outside Satara and a team has been formed to arrest him. Soon the accused will be arrested,” she said.

She added that the government was committed to helping women and urged them to use the 112 helpline to report such cases.

NCP leader Anand Paranjape said, “It is an unfortunate incident. Teams have been sent to arrest the accused. Strictest action should be taken as there is a zero tolerance policy towards atrocities against women.”

The Maharashtra State Commission for Women also took note of the case and directed the police to investigate why no action was taken earlier.“The commission has instructed the police to investigate why the victimised woman did not receive help despite previously complaining about the harassment she faced and to take strict action against those responsible,” it said in a post on X.

The doctor’s body has been sent for autopsy, and the police have launched a full investigation into the incident, NDTV reported.