Maharashtra, Oct 27 : A new layer of controversy has emerged in the Maharashtra doctor suicide case, with fresh claims that the 28-year old government medical officer from Satara was under political pressure to manipulate postmortem reports.
Bhagyashree Maruti Pachangne, a local woman, alleged that the doctor had been coerced into signing a fake postmortem report related to her daughter’s death. Pachangne claimed her daughter, married to an Indian Army officer, was tortured at her in laws’ home and may have been murdered. “The doctor was pressured to declare it a natural death,” she said.
The doctor’s cousin also alleged that she was frequently asked to falsify medical documents under political influence. In a suicide note inscribed on her palm, the deceased accused police sub-inspector Gopal Badane of sexual assault and a techie, Prashant Bankar, of mental harassment.
A separate four page note recovered from her room mentioned a former MP, claiming his aides had urged her to declare an accused, Malhari Channe, medically fit.
According to a relative quoted by a news agency, “Political figures in Phaltan routinely pressured her to alter medical reports. She had complained several times about the harassment from the PSI named in her note, but no action was taken.”
The incident has sparked a major political storm in Maharashtra, with Opposition leaders alleging that the doctor’s death was the result of institutional exploitation.
Police have arrested Bankar, the son of the doctor’s landlord, and sub inspector Badane, who later surrendered and has been suspended. Both face charges of rape and abetment to suicide under sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Authorities have said that the investigation is ongoing and that all allegations, including those involving political interference, are being examined thoroughly.