PUNE: The Satara police arrested a techie and a police sub-inspector on Saturday in connection with the alleged
rape and abetment of suicide of a 28-year-old doctor employed at the Phaltan subdistrict hospital.
While the techie was arrested early in the morning, the police sub-inspector surrendered before the Phaltan rural police late in the night, a senior police officer said.
“A court remanded the techie in four-day police custody till Oct 28,” said Satara superintendent of police Tushar Doshi.
The brother and sister of the techie, speaking to TOI, denied the claim that he was arrested from a farmhouse in Pune. “My brother was arrested from our house in Phaltan. We had called him and told him to surrender. His social media records and call details have been given to the police. My brother never called the doctor. Instead, it was the doctor who used to call him repeatedly and harass him,” said the brother of the accused.
Doctors’ associations in the state demanded transfer of the case to the state CID/ SIT to ensure an “independent, fair, and transparent investigation”.
My mother treated Phaltan doctor like own daughter: Sister of arrested techie
The doctor had been paying a monthly rent of Rs 4,000 to the family of the accused and residing at the place for the past year.
The techie’s younger sister said, “Last month, my brother came to Phaltan to recover from dengue infection. At that time, this doctor treated him, and they exchanged numbers. Some 15 days ago, the doctor proposed marriage to my brother. My brother turned down the proposal. During Diwali, the doctor seemed tense, but we thought it might be a work-related issue. She was like a family member to us, and my mother used to treat her like her own daughter.”
The police said during questioning on Saturday, the arrested techie also claimed that the doctor used to harass him by insisting that he marry her and maintain a physical relationship with her. “A large number of chats and call recordings between the accused and the deceased have been found in which she is speaking about stress, pressure, etc.” a police officer said.
The police are also investigating whether the accused sub-inspector — who is also named in the FIR for rape and suicide abetment, and comes from Beed, the same district as the doctor — knew her or had any relationship with her.
Following the doctor’s suicide, police discovered a note written on her palm, naming the sub-inspector and the landlord’s son for driving her to take the extreme step by subjecting her to physical and mental harassment over the past five months. Based on this note and other evidence, such as WhatsApp chats exchanged between the doctor and the techie, an FIR was registered on Friday under sections 64 (rape) and 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the two suspects.
SP Tushar Doshi said, “A woman ended her life, and there might be some truth to her allegations. We are trying to establish everything. It is a challenging case as she had not complained about this earlier. Technical evidence and WhatsApp chats will be verified, but again, that can only prove that there was sexual contact. Whether there was any blackmail angle is what the investigation will bring to the fore.”
Doctors’ associations in the state demanded the transfer of the case to the state CID/SIT to ensure an independent, fair, and transparent investigation, insisting on a time-bound completion of the inquiry and the public release of its findings.
Additionally, the associations are seeking accountability from administrative officers who allegedly ignored repeated complaints.
Dr Sachin Patil, the president of Central Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), said, “We have written to the chief minister to personally intervene in this issue and to ensure that the case is handled with utmost seriousness. There is a sense of immense grief and collective outrage amongst the medical fraternity. As per statements from her colleagues, the doctor repeatedly informed her seniors about being mentally and physically harassed by the two men. Despite clear warnings that she was under extreme distress, no effective preventive action was taken by the administration.”
The Central MARD, Association of Medical Officers (AMO), and Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) have condemned the tragic death and held black ribbon protest on Saturday. In a note issued by these organisations, they have demanded immediate action and warned that if their demands are not met, doctors will intensify their agitation and initiate statewide protests.
Additionally, Health Rights NGO Jan Aarogya Abhiyan (JAA) has written to the CM requesting the case be registered as “institutional murder’. Dr Abhay Shukla, the national co-convenor of JAA, said, “We believe that the death of this young doctor is caused by patriarchal attitudes, administrative apathy, and negligence within the system. We demand an independent judicial inquiry committee and also request the govt to implement a ‘Women’s Safety Policy’ in all govt hospitals across Maharashtra.”
CM Devendra Fadnavis on Friday spoke to the Satara SP and directed the immediate suspension of the sub-inspector named in the note.