Woman doctor's suicide: Kin demand probe by SIT, trial in Beed court
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): Family members of a woman doctor who allegedly committed suicide in Maharashtra's Satara district last week have demanded that the government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.
The trial should be held in a fast-track court in Beed, they said at a press conference on Monday.
"We have some demands for the chief minister. An SIT should be formed at the earliest, and we will not go to Phaltan (where the woman died by suicide) to record our statements. The case should be tried in a fast-track court in Beed. The allegations that are being made against my sister should be verified by checking the CDR (Call Detail Records)," said a woman relative.
The complaints made by the woman doctor in the past were not heeded, and a fresh inquiry should be held into them, she added.
A male relative of the deceased woman raised questions about the surrender of suspended police sub-inspector Gopal Badane, one of the two arrested accused.
"Police kept searching for him. They formed five teams and sent them in different directions. Then how did the accused surrender a day before the CM's visit (to Phaltan)? We think he destroyed all the evidence and then surrendered," the relative claimed.
The 28-year-old doctor, hailing from Beed district of central Maharashtra and posted at a government hospital in Satara, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on the night of October 23.
In the suicide note written on her palm, she alleged that sub-inspector Gopal Badane raped her on multiple occasions, while Prashant Bankar, a software engineer, mentally harassed her.
The sub-inspector and the engineer were arrested on October 25.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member Rajani Patil said she messaged the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, about the incident, and he sought more details.
Patil was speaking to reporters after meeting the family.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had on Sunday termed the doctor’s alleged suicide an “institutionalised murder” and claimed her death exposes the “inhuman and insensitive” nature of the BJP-led government.
Patil said that after meeting the deceased's family, she learned that the doctor had faced harassment from the health as well as home departments.
One of the woman's relatives had claimed earlier that she faced pressure from police to change medical reports when accused individuals were brought to the government hospital at Phaltan for medical examination after an arrest.
"The inquiry should take place impartially and an SIT should be formed in this case," Patil said.
"We only say `Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'. But is this the security the `double engine' government is providing to the women? Women are not at all safe here," the parliamentatian said.
Holding a press conference in Pune, another Opposition leader, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sushma Andhare, asked whether it was a murder.
"Why did the doctor go to that hotel at midnight? What prompted her to go there at 1 am? Was she summoned there or did she go on her own? The doctor's sister is saying the handwriting on the doctor's palm is not hers. If it isn't hers, then whose is it? Did the doctor really die by suicide, or was she murdered?" Andhare asked.
By naming only Badane and Bankar as accused, the larger conspiracy was being hidden, Andhare claimed.
Maharashtra Women's Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar on Monday said the doctor had visited accused Prashant Bankar's house on Diwali, and they had an argument after which she left.
"The call records of the deceased and the two accused reveal that the deceased was in touch with PSI Badane till March, and there was no communication between them after that," Chakankar told reporters at Phaltan in Satara district.
"The CDRs also show her communication with Bankar. On Laxmi Pujan day, the deceased was at Bankar's house. Apparently, both had an argument over clicking photos as the pictures were not properly taken, leading to a quarrel. After the argument, the doctor left the house. Bankar's father went and brought her back home, but she left again to stay at a lodge," she added.
The woman had sent messages to Bankar and indicated that she would take an extreme step, and the preliminary autopsy report indicated it was a case of suicide by hanging, Chakankar said.
Police were probing whether any other person was involved in the case, the state women's commission chairperson stated.
Referring to cross-complaints filed by the woman doctor and the police over the medical examination of arrested persons, Chakankar said the matter had been disposed of by the hospital's internal committee in July 2025.
Satara Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi confirmed that the woman doctor was in touch with Bankar before the incident, and that there was an exchange of messages between them.
"The probe is also underway into the rape allegations mentioned in the suicide note against PSI Badane, and their joint locations and chats are being examined," he said.
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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.
