'Investigation Itself Suspicious': In Satara Doctor Suicide Case, Brother's Red Flag

The family of the Maharashtra doctor who died by suicide last week – after accusing a policeman of raping her four times in five months and a MP of harassing her to issue fake medical fitness certificates – has raised concerns over the recorded time of death.

The correct time of death – 11.50 am according to her brother – was "deliberately not recorded", he said. Instead, she was recorded as having died a full 12 hours later, at 11.50 pm, he said.

Pointing out the contradiction in having the police investigate a cop accused of such a serious crime, he also called for a special team be set up under the control of a High Court judge.

"The investigation itself is suspicious… the police officers themselves are the accused in this case. Therefore a SIT, (i.e., a Special Investigation Team) is necessary," the brother reasoned.

"When we went to Satara (where the young doctor died), the investigating officer, Deputy Superintendent Vishal Khambe, showed us the autopsy report. When I saw it, it only mentioned 'asphyxia (i.e., a condition in which the body is deprived of oxygen due to hanging."

"But that is immediately clear on seeing the body," he said, "The main reason for a forensic expert performing the autopsy is to determine time of death. We requested this."

However, the brother said, that detail was missing in the initial report shown to the family. "… the report didn't mention it at the time. I asked about it and they said 'we will tell you in two days'."

"… it took six days for this report to arrive. And even then why were you only able to tell us what we already knew (i.e., the doctor died of asphyxia)? And why isn't time of death mentioned?"

The doctor's family has also claimed that someone unlocked her mobile phone after her death to delete vital information. They also claimed her WhatsApp account was listed as 'active' even after her death, leading to suspicion that someone erased vital information from the device.

The doctor's death has kicked up a massive legal and political storm in Maharashtra, particularly after it emerged she had previously filed multiple written complaints against Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane, the man she alleged raped her, and others who harassed her.

Posted to a government hospital in Satara, she was found dead in a hotel room late on October 23, with a suicide note scribbled onto the palm of her left hand. The note accused Badane of rape and a software engineer, Prashant Bankar, of prolonged mental harassment.

Both have since been arrested.

The question marks over the recorded time of death are critical since CCTV footage from the night of October 23 shows the doctor checking into a lodge, alone, after attending a party at Bankar's residence a few hours earlier. There were reports of an argument with Bankar that day.

She also allegedly sent a series of text messages to him before dying by suicide, suggesting she was under emotional strain. Police have confirmed a late-night call was made to Bankar.

The following morning, i.e., on October 24, hotel staff discovered her body.

The death has triggered a political row with opposition leaders, including the Congress' Rahul Gandhi, calling the case an 'institutional failure'. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, meanwhile, has defended the police investigation, and warned against politicisation of the case.