Maharashtra doctor suicide: Cousin cites pressure on deceased to manipulate post-mortem reports; another suicide note might exist

NEW DELHI: The cousin of a woman doctor who allegedly died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Satara has demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, alleging that she had been under “immense political and police pressure” for over a year and was forced to falsify postmortem and fitness reports.The cousin told news agency ANI that the doctor had faced harassment for more than a year and was pressured to manipulate official documents. "She was under a lot of political and police pressure for the last year. Medical staff at the hospital are also involved. Everyone forced her to make wrong postmortem reports and forge fitness certificates. She was being forced to perform more and more postmortems despite other officers being present at the hospital," the cousin said.

The family also alleged procedural lapses in the handling of her body. "When she died, there was no one to perform her postmortem till 6am. They brought her dead body from her residence to the hospital in our absence. All this should have happened in front of the family members," the cousin said.The cousin also said that they suspect that another suicide note might exist, alleging that the doctor had been documenting her distress and complaints in writing.

"We believe that when her dead body was taken to the hospital, she must have left behind another suicide note. She fought hard and wrote 4-page complaint letters. She cannot die with just a little note on her palm," the cousin said to news agency ANI. The family has demanded that the SIT probe include a woman officer from outside Maharashtra, alleging that “state police officers can try to influence the investigation.” The woman doctor was found dead in Satara on Thursday, leaving a note written on her hand naming a police official and two others, officials said. Following the incident, Satara Police arrested Police Sub-Inspector Gopal Badne and Prashant Bankar on charges of rape and abetment to suicide. Badne, named in the note, has been suspended. Earlier on Sunday, the suspended officer was produced before the additional district and sessions court in Phaltan and remanded to police custody till October 30. (With agency inputs)