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.
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J’khand: All 7 on board air ambulance killed in crash, bodies brought to hospital for post-mortem
Ranchi (PTI): All seven persons on board an air ambulance were killed after the aircraft crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, and their bodies have been brought to a hospital for post-mortem examination, officials said on Tuesday.
The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was en route to Delhi from Ranchi when it crashed on Monday evening in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, located deep inside a forest, killing all seven onboard, including two pilots.
"We have brought all the seven bodies for post-mortem at Sadar Hospital, Chatra. The crash is being investigated," an official told PTI.
ALSO READ: Air ambulance with 7 onboard to Delhi from Ranchi crashes in Jharkhand's Chatra
The aircraft took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 pm and went missing around 7.30 pm. It lost contact with the air traffic control about 20 minutes after departure, he said.
Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said inclement weather could be a possible reason behind the crash, though the exact cause would be ascertained after a detailed probe.
Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari said the state government will conduct a probe into how permission was given to the aircraft to fly during “inclement weather”. He also said proper compensation would be given to the kin of the deceased.
Terming the crash extremely unfortunate, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth said unpleasant weather could be one of the reasons, which will be determined by the probe.
In a post on X, former chief minister and BJP leader Champai Soren said he was deeply saddened.
The deceased have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.
Meanwhile, a lingering sense of grief prevailed in Chatra district, as the near and dear ones of those killed in the crash expressed shock and disbelief.
Bajrangi Prasad, the father of deceased Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, said he had sold all his land to make his son a doctor, who was posted at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi.
"He has a seven-year-old son... He was meritorious and had completed his MBBS from Odisha’s Cuttack," Prasad, who hails from Bihar’s Aurangabad district, said.
Family members of Sanjay Kumar (41), however, blamed the “poor” health infrastructure behind the tragedy.
"Had we given proper treatment to my brother-in-law Sanjay in Ranchi, precious lives could have been saved. I lost both both Sanjay and sister Archana Devi in the incident," Kumar said.
Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G had earlier told PTI that the bodies of all seven deceased were retrieved from the crash site and shifted to Chatra hospital for post-mortem examination.
In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the Beechcraft C90 aircraft (VT-AJV) was operating a medical evacuation flight on the Ranchi-Delhi sector when it crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra district.
“The aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 19:11 IST. After establishing contact with Kolkata at 19:34 IST, the aircraft lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi,” it said, adding that there were seven people on board, including two crew members.
An Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team has been dispatched to the crash site.
According to the DGCA website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird has six aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crashed.
Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, told PTI that the air ambulance was arranged by one of their patients.
"The patient, Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was brought to the hospital with 65 per cent burn injuries on February 16. He was being treated in the hospital," he said.
The family members decided to take him to Delhi for better treatment, Sinha said.
"They arranged for an air ambulance on Monday. The patient left the hospital for Delhi around 4.30 pm," he said.
