Woman doctor’s suicide: Sena (UBT) leader Andhare attacks former BJP MP
The 28-year-old doctor, hailing from Beed and posted at a government hospital in Satara, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare on Monday raised questions regarding the alleged suicide of a woman doctor in Phaltan in Satara district.
The 28-year-old doctor, hailing from Beed and posted at a government hospital in Satara, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night.
In the suicide note written on her palm, she alleged that police 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 Saturday.
Addressing a press conference in Pune, Andhare questioned whether the doctor had been killed.
“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? The original suicide note may have been removed or tampered with, as it seems unlikely that someone who could write a four-page letter would end her life with just four lines written on her hand. Did the doctor really die by suicide, or was she murdered?” Andhare asked, raising doubts about the note’s authenticity.
She alleged the hotel where the doctor was found hanging belongs to a person named Bhosale who is close to former BJP MP Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar.
Andhare criticised the police for the rushed removal of the doctor’s body, questioning why they did not wait for the family to arrive before taking custody of the body after confirming her identity.
By naming only Badane and Bankar, there is an attempt to hide the larger conspiracy, Andhare claimed, demanding the police to extend their investigation beyond the two accused.
She alleged Nimbalkar, who is in the sugar business, harasses cane cutters who leave work unfinished by filing cases against them with the help of the local police, and then pressures government doctors to issue fitness certificates to enable the arrest of such workers. When a doctor refused to issue fitness certificates for them, Nimbalkar allegedly pressured the medical staff.
The deceased doctor, in a four-page letter to her seniors, had alleged three police personnel, including Badane, pressured her to issue fitness certificates so that police could arrest such individuals. In the same letter, she also mentioned receiving a call from the personal assistant of an MP who allegedly pressured her to declare an accused person fit during a medical examination.
Andhare claimed Nimbalkar, since joining the BJP, has filed 277 first information reports (FIR) cases from 2022 onwards against several people, mostly sugarcane workers, with the help of the police.
“Despite all these facts, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gave Nimbalkar a clean chit yesterday,” she said.
Andhare demanded a thorough investigation by a high-level team appointed by the high court to examine the role of Nimbalkar. She also called for inquiries into the conduct of his two personal assistants, the then deputy superintendent of police (DYSP) and other police officials.
Meanwhile, Nimbalkar has denied all allegations against him since the case came to light and has claimed his name is being dragged into the issue unnecessarily.
Tushar Doshi, superintendent of police, Satara, said, “From 2022-2023, to address issues in sugar mills, it was decided to file cases against workers and contractors. Accordingly, around 1,800 cases were lodged across Maharashtra, of which around 1,000 were in the Kolhapur Range. Similar cases were filed in Satara as well. Most cases were in western Maharashtra as the region has the highest concentration of sugar mills.”
Regarding the murder allegations and the disputed suicide note, Doshi said, “This is a death by suicide case, and our investigation is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, Nimbalkar has sent a ₹50 crore defamation notice to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare and Jayashree Agawane, claiming that the allegations against him are baseless.
Nimbalkar’s lawyer, Dheeraj Sayajirao Ghadge, held a press conference stating that the notice demands public written apologies within 48 hours from Andhare and Agawane. He said Agawane is an accused under the MCOCA Act and claimed Andhare is pursuing a political agenda. Regarding the claims that a person named Nanaware committed suicide due to Nimbalkar, as claimed by Agawane, Ghadge said that a sworn affidavit from Nanaware’s brother clearly states that the former MP had no involvement.
Ghadge added that Nimbalkar has had no connection with the sugar mill since 2019.
