Pune Techie Prashant Bankar Arrested in Maharashtra Doctor Suicide Case

In a significant development in the high-profile case of the woman doctor who died by suicide in Phaltan, Satara district, Maharashtra, police on Saturday arrested Prashant Bankar, one of the two main individuals named in the victim’s suicide note. Bankar, a software engineer in Pune and the son of the deceased doctor’s landlord, will be produced in court later today.

The body of the doctor, who was posted at the Phaltan Sub-District Hospital, was discovered in a hotel room on Thursday evening. She had reportedly left a note on her palm accusing two individuals: Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane of repeated sexual assault and rape, and Prashant Bankar of mental harassment.

Key Allegations and Police Action

Satara police have registered a case of abetment of suicide and rape against both Bankar and Badane based on the note and subsequent investigation.

• Prashant Bankar was arrested after the doctor’s note explicitly accused him of mental and physical harassment over a period of five months. Police reported that the doctor had been in a five-month relationship with Bankar that had recently turned sour.
• Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane, the second accused, who was posted at the Phaltan City Police Station, is currently absconding. He has been suspended from service, and a special team has been formed to trace and arrest him. The note alleges Badane raped the doctor multiple times. The doctor’s interaction with the sub-inspector reportedly stemmed from her professional duties at the hospital, which included conducting medical examinations for suspects in custody.

Wider Concerns Regarding Work Pressure and Harassment

The case has taken on a wider dimension with claims from the victim’s relatives and an activist that she had been under immense police and political pressure to alter post-mortem and medical reports of arrested persons.

• A statement the doctor allegedly submitted to an internal inquiry committee previously detailed ongoing intimidation from police officials, including being pressured to declare a high-blood-pressure patient fit for custody without proper treatment.
• Relatives claim her complaints, including one written complaint submitted to the Deputy Superintendent of Police in June, were largely ignored.
• Political leaders, including NCP’s Dhananjay Munde and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Ambadas Danve, have strongly condemned the incident, demanding a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe and a fast-track trial, citing the alleged systemic apathy and the notion that “protectors turned predators.”

The Satara Superintendent of Police has confirmed that the doctor’s complaints and evidence, including WhatsApp messages, were used to file the FIRs. An internal inquiry panel is also being set up by the Civil Surgeon’s office to examine if hospital authorities adequately addressed her previous complaints.