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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (October 26, 2025) termed as "institutionalised murder" the death of a woman government doctor in Maharashtra's Satara district, and said her death exposes the "inhuman and insensitive " nature of the BJP-led government.
The doctor, hailing from Beed district in the Marathwada region of central Maharashtra and posted at a government hospital in Satara district, was found dead in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday (October 23, 2025) night.
She alleged in a note that police Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane raped her on multiple occasions, while software engineer Prashant Bankar mentally harassed her.
In a post in Hindi on X, Mr. Gandhi said the death of the doctor in Satara after facing rape and harassment is a tragedy that shakes the conscience of any civilised society.
A promising doctor, who aspired to alleviate the suffering of others, fell victim to the torture of criminals within the corrupt system, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
"Those who were entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the public from criminals committed the most heinous crime against this innocent woman: rape and exploitation. According to reports, some influential people associated with the BJP even tried to pressure her into corruption," Mr. Gandhi said.
"This is the most despicable example of a power-protected criminal ideology. This is not suicide - it is institutionalised murder," the former Congress president said.
When power shields criminals, who can expect justice, he said.
The doctor's death exposes the "inhuman and insensitive" nature of this BJP government, he said.
"We stand firmly with the victim's family in this fight for justice. For every daughter of India - no more fear, we need justice," Mr. Gandhi said.
Police have arrested sub-inspector Gopal Badane in connection with the death of the doctor, officials said.
Mr. Badane surrendered at the Phaltan Rural Police Station in Satara on Saturday (October 25, 2025) evening, following which he was arrested, district Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi said.
Earlier, on Saturday (October 25, 2025) morning, a team from the Phaltan police arrested software engineer Mr. Bankar, whom the doctor had named along with Mr. Badane in her note, from Pune.
Mr. Bankar, accused of mentally harassing the victim and facing an abetment of suicide charge, was produced on Saturday (October 25, 2025) before a Satara district court which sent him to police custody for four days.
A case of rape and abetment of suicide had been registered against the duo in Phaltan in Satara district.
According to the police, Mr. 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 Mr. 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 (October 24, 2025) 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.
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