Maharashtra woman doctor's suicide: Sub-inspector, techie arrested
Pune/Satara (PTI): Police have arrested sub-inspector Gopal Badane in connection with the alleged suicide of a woman government doctor in Maharashtra's Satara district, officials said.
Badane surrendered at the Phaltan Rural Police Station in Satara on Saturday evening following which he was arrested, district Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi said.
Earlier, on Saturday morning, a team from the Phaltan police arrested software engineer Prashant Bankar, whom the doctor had named along with Badane in her suicide note, from Pune.
Bankar, accused of mentally harassing the victim and facing abetment of suicide charge, was produced on Saturday before a Satara district court which sent him to police custody for four days.
The doctor, hailing from Beed district in the Marathwada region of central Maharashtra and posted at a government hospital in Satara district, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night.
In the suicide note written on her palm, she alleged that police sub-inspector Badane raped her on multiple occasions, while Bankar, a software engineer, mentally harassed her.
A case of rape and abetment of suicide had been registered against the duo in Phaltan in Satara district.
According to the police, Bankar is the son of the landlord of the house where the doctor resided.
She had allegedly called him over the phone and chatted with him before ending her life, they said.
Sub-inspector Badane was suspended from service after his name came up during the probe into the case.
The doctor, meanwhile, was cremated at her native place in Beed's Wadwani tehsil on Friday night.
Her relatives demand capital punishment for the accused in the case.
She complained multiple times about harassment, but her grievances were not addressed, a relative alleged while talking to a news channel.
Another relative claimed the victim was pressured to change medical reports at the sub-district hospital where she worked.
"Political people in Phaltan often asked her to change medical reports as she used to be regularly on autopsy duty. She had complained multiple times against the PSI (named in the note), but her complaints were not looked into," the relative stated.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve accused former BJP MP Ranjitsingh Naik Nimbalkar of pressuring the doctor on one occasion in the past. Nimbalkar, however, denied the allegation, saying it had no truth, and his name was being dragged into the case deliberately.
BJP MLA Suresh Dhas demanded that the MP who allegedly tried to pressurise the woman doctor be made an accused in the case. He did not name any leader, though.
As per a purported reply submitted by the woman doctor earlier this year to authorities in Satara district after a subordinate police official complained about her, she faced threats from police officials over her way of working, and also taunts over crime in Beed, her native district.
The woman's two cousins, also doctors, alleged that the hospital administration assigned her post-mortem duties only to harass her.
According to the victim's family, she wanted to pursue the MD (Doctor of Medicine) course, and was preparing for it.
A loan of Rs 3 lakh taken for her MBBS course was yet to be repaid, her uncle told PTI.
"Her father is a farmer, he is not an educated person. I am a teacher and I took her to Beed for schooling....she did not want to stop at MBBS, but wanted to pursue MD in medicine, ENT or non-clinical branches," he said.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
