Two days after a 29-year-old government doctor died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Satara, HT has reported that she was in a tense standoff with local police.
After reviewing the documents, the outlet learnt that the doctor, who worked at Phaltan Sub-District Hospital, had filed multiple complaints naming several police officers, while the police had also filed counter-claims against her.
In a four-page statement to a committee investigating the matter, the doctor described instances of harassment. She wrote that she was being targeted because of her Beed connection and warned, “If anything happens to me, the police will be responsible.” She submitted this statement in August 2025. On the night of October 23, she was found hanging in her hotel room in Phaltan, Satara.
Her death is also linked to allegations of sexual assault mentioned in a suicide note written on her palm. The doctor claimed she was raped more than once by a police officer and harassed by another man.
Adding to the case, she alleged that a member of parliament (MP) pressured her to alter medical reports more than once. When she refused, she said she was threatened.
Dispute over medical reports
The conflict between the doctor and the police reportedly revolved around repeated pressure on her to change fitness certificates and post-mortem reports to help accused individuals in police custody.
In her first letter, dated June 19, 2025, addressed to the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Phaltan, she complained, naming police officers, that she was repeatedly pressured to issue fitness certificates for accused individuals. One of the officers she named was PSI Gopal Badane, who she alleged had also raped her.
When her complaint was ignored, she filed an RTI application with the SDPO (Phaltan) on August 13, seeking details of action taken on her June complaint.
Police counter-complaints
Around the same time, in July, Phaltan police officers submitted a written complaint to the Satara Civil Surgeon. They accused her of deliberately issuing “not fit” certificates for accused persons, which delayed arrests and custodial remand.
The Civil Surgeon then appointed a two-member committee to investigate. In a detailed four-page statement to this committee in August, the doctor repeated her allegations against the police and also mentioned political pressure. She claimed a personal assistant (PA) of an MP had called her, accusing her of favouring the accused because she was from Beed district. She did not name the MP.
Doctor’s account of incidents
“On July 31, 2025, when Phaltan Police brought an accused for medical examination, I observed that he had high blood pressure and decided to admit him for treatment. However, the police insisted on taking him back immediately,” HT reported, quoting her statement.
She also wrote that when two other accused, Malhari Chavan and Swapnil Jadhav, were brought in, she referred Chavan for a 2D Echo test in Satara and examined Jadhav locally. The fitness certificate for Jadhav was later issued as per the Medical Superintendent of Satara District Dr Anshuman Dhumal’s instructions.
According to her statement, within minutes, two of the MP’s PAs arrived at the hospital and connected her to the MP over the phone. The MP allegedly scolded her for “not issuing certificates as desired by the police.”
The doctor alleged that PSI Gopal Badane once entered the emergency ward, sat on a chair and threatened her, while her complaints to senior doctors, including Dr Anshuman Dhumal, were ignored.
Dr Dhumal denied the allegations. “We have not received any formal complaint in which the female doctor has accused police officials of harassing her. She had only put it before the probe committee, and she was later instructed based on the outcome of the report.”
A senior Satara police officer told HT that the doctor was “reluctant to conduct pre-arrest medical examinations at night” and often declared accused persons unfit “without sufficient grounds,” forcing police to keep security at the hospital. “This disrupted the arrest and custodial process,” the officer added.
The officer also said the doctor refused to be available 24×7 for medical formalities, so the police sought a replacement.
Satara Civil Surgeon Dr Yuvraj Karpe said, “Yes, there were allegations by the police, so a two-member committee was formed. After hearing both parties in August 2025, we reminded the doctor that medical officers must be available 24×7. We noticed a drastic change in her behaviour thereafter.”
Both the doctor’s letters and the police complaints are now being re-examined as part of the ongoing investigation into her death.
