- A doctor in Maharashtra was forced to sign fake postmortem report before suicide, a woman has claimed
- In the doctor's suicide note, a police sub-inspector has been accused of sexual assault
- Two men, a police officer and a software engineer, have been arrested in connection with the case
The doctor in Maharashtra who died by suicide has signed a fake postmortem report, a woman from Satara has alleged. The woman, Bhagyashree Maruti Pachangne, from a village in the district, is the mother of Deepali Maruti, who, she alleges, did not die a natural death and but her postmortem report does not corroborate that.
Bhagyashree Pachangne has claimed that the doctor was under pressure to alter the postmortem report. She has also demanded a thorough investigation into her daughter's suspicious death.
Doctor's Suicide
The doctor was apparently under pressure to give false medical reports. In a suicide note that she penned on her palm, she has accused a police officer -- sub-inspector Gopal Badane -- of sexual assault and a techie, Prashant Bankar, of mental harassment.
She also mentioned a former MP in another four-page suicide letter.
She allegedly mentioned two personal assistants of the former MP asking the doctor to declare an accused, Malhari Channe, medically fit.
Quoting an un-named relative, news agency Press Trust of India claimed the doctor 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 said.
The case has sparked a massive political row in Maharashtra, with the Opposition alleging that the doctor was victimised by criminals.
Fresh Twist
The fresh allegations by Bhagyashree Pachangne have added a new layer to the case. Her daughter, Pachangne alleged, was married to Ajinkya Hanmant Nimbalkar, an Indian Army officer.
Bhagyashree Pachangne claims her daughter faced continuous mental and physical abuse from her husband and in-laws. Unable to bear the torment, she had died by suicide on August 19. Pachangne, however, claimed her daughter could have been murdered.
She alleged that even five days after Deepali's death, the police did not provide the postmortem report.
When the Pachangne family finally received it after a month, they found it entirely fabricated, she claimed. She accused Ajinkya Nimbalkar of using his political and police connections to suppress the case.
"On August 17, we received a call from our son-in-law, informing us that Deepali was in critical condition and admitted to Raut Hospital in Phaltan. We were shocked, assuming that since she was pregnant, she might have fainted or fallen due to dizziness," she said.
When they reached the hospital, her brother-in-law "informed us that Deepali had taken her life... I strongly doubt this," she said.
"My daughter could not have done this. She was six months pregnant and had a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter-how could she leave them behind? She would never do such a thing. I believe she was murdered," she added.
Arrests In The Case
The police have arrested software engineer Prashant Bankar, the son of her landlord, whom the doctor accused of mental harassment. Later, police sub-inspector Gopal Badane, whom the doctor accused of rape, surrendered.
Sub-inspector Badane was suspended from service after his name came up during the probe into the case.
A case of rape and abetment of suicide had been registered against the two men in Satara district's Phaltan.
