A 29-year-old government doctor who allegedly committed suicide in Phaltan’s Satara district on Thursday and accused sub-inspector Gopal Badan of rape and software engineer Prashant Bankar of mental harassment was embroiled in an intense confrontation with local police, according to the Hindustan Times.
She was admitted to Phaltan Sub-District Hospital. She filed several complaints naming several police officers while the police filed counter-charges against her and showed documents seen by HT.
“If anything happens to me, the police will be responsible.
The doctor detailed the occurrence of the alleged molestation in a later four-page statement submitted to the committee investigating the allegations. She claimed she was targeted for her association with Beed and warned that “if anything happens to me, the police will be responsible,” the report said. The doctor submitted his bill in August 2025.
In addition to alleging that she was raped by a police officer more than once, the doctor alleged that the MP repeatedly pressured her to falsify medical reports. According to her statement, she was threatened after she refused. The spat between the doctor and the police centers on her repeated pressure to falsify medical certificates and post-mortem reports to allegedly help keep accused persons in police custody.
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In her first letter dated June 19, 2025 to the Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Phaltan, the doctor, using the surnames of specific police officers, said that she faced repeated pressure to issue medical fitness certificates for the accused persons brought to the hospital.
When her complaint remained unresolved, she filed a Right to Information (RTI) application with the SDPO (Phaltan) on August 13 seeking information on the action taken on her June 19 complaint.
Meanwhile, in July, officers from the Phaltan police station filed a written complaint with the Civil Surgeon, Satara, alleging that the doctor had deliberately issued “unfit” certificates to the accused, delaying their arrest and detention. The Civil Surgeon, Satara constituted a two-member committee to inquire into the matter.
The doctor reiterated her allegations against the police and also alleged political pressure in a detailed four-page written statement submitted to this committee in August. She stated that the personal assistant (PA) of the MP called her and accused her of favoring the accused because he belongs to Beed district, though she did not name the MP.
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“On July 31, 2025, when the Faltan police brought the accused for medical examination, I noticed that he had high blood pressure and decided to admit him for treatment. However, the police insisted on taking him back immediately,” HT quoted her as saying.
She also noted that when the other two accused, Malhari Chavan and Swapnil Jadhav, were brought, she sent Chavan for a 2D Echo test in Satara and examined Jadhav locally. She added that the fitness certificate for Jadhav was later issued on the instructions of Satara District Medical Superintendent Dr Anshuman Dhumal.
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Two PA MPs arrived at the hospital and put her on the phone with the MP. The MP allegedly scolded her for “not issuing a certificate as required by the police”. After PSI Gopal Badane once came to the emergency room, she sat on a chair and threatened her, allegedly a doctor, while her complaints to senior doctors, including Dr Anshuman Dhumal, went unheeded.
Denying the claims, Dhumal said, “We have not received any formal complaint in which the doctor accused the police officials of harassment. She only submitted it to the inquiry committee and was later instructed based on the outcome of the report.”
