Woman doctor's 'suicide': autopsy says death due to hanging; family alleges phone tampering
Beed/Mumbai (PTI): Controversy surrounds the death of a 28-year-old doctor in Maharashtra's Satara district, whose post-mortem mentioned the cause of death as "asphyxia due to hanging", but the victim's family claimed someone accessed her phone using her fingerprint to erase crucial data after her death.
The police in Satara's Phaltan town, where the doctor was found hanging in a hotel room on the night of October 23, received the post-mortem report on Tuesday, a senior police official said, adding the cause of death was cited as "asphyxia due to hanging," indicating the doctor died by suicide.
The post-mortem, conducted at a state-run hospital, included preserving the viscera for chemical analysis at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), a mandatory step in unnatural death cases.
Police also spoke about other details regarding the doctor's alleged suicide note saying that the deceased, a right-handed writer, penned a note on her palm and captured a photo of it on her mobile phone. The pen used for the note was recovered near the body, the official said.
The note accused Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane of repeated rape and software engineer Prashant Bankar, who is the son of her landlord, of mental harassment. Both were arrested on October 25.
Police said the last communication on the doctor's phone, involving a call and WhatsApp messages with Prashant Bankar, was recorded at 9:58 pm.
Furthermore, the official said there was no evidence of forced entry into the hotel room, ruling out the presence of anyone else during the incident.
In a separate development, the victim's relatives from her native Beed district have demanded constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) alleging that crucial data was deleted from her mobile phone after her death.
The victim's uncle claimed that her phone was accessed using her fingerprint after she died, leading to the erasing of "vital information related to the incident."
On Monday, family members of the doctor demanded that the government set up an SIT to probe the case, and said the trial should be conducted in a fast-track court in Beed, and not in Phaltan, where the incident took place.
"We were informed about the doctor's death by hanging, but by the time we reached the spot (hotel room), her body had already been taken to the hospital. We later found out that a suicide note was written on her hand," the uncle of the deceased told reporters on Monday night.
They also pointed to the deceased doctor's WhatsApp 'last seen' status, which allegedly showed activity even after her death, raising suspicion that someone else had operated the phone.
"We suspect that her mobile phone was tampered with after her death....Her WhatsApp 'last seen' status appears to show activity after her death, which raises further suspicion that the phone was operated by someone else after her death," the uncle said.
The family has also demanded that the case be heard in a Beed district court to ensure an impartial investigation.
Dr Omprakash Shete, the state government's representative coordinating with the woman doctor's family, visited her native place on Monday evening and assured the kin that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would be briefed on the matter to ensure justice. Her family also submitted memorandum of demands to him.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also spoke to the victim's family members over the phone and assured their support till justice is delivered.
Residents of Wadwani in Beed observed a bandh on Tuesday, demanding a probe by an SIT into the alleged suicide of the woman doctor who hailed from the region.
Satara Police, meanwhile, are taking steps to authenticate the suicide note. Samples of the doctor's handwriting and the photo of the note on her palm have been sent to the Maharashtra CID to check for any discrepancies.
Regarding the doctor's professional life, a police official noted that the doctor, who had been transferred from Wai as a medical officer, had renewed her contract at the Phaltan sub-district hospital at least twice.
The official suggested that she "had an option to change the place of duty" if work pressure was an issue, indicating that police are actively investigating various possible motives and angles in the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
