The young doctor accused a police officer of rape and a techie of harassment in her suicide note, sparking protests across Maharashtra.
BY PC Bureau
October 25, 2025: “There were Duryodhanas and Dushasanas, but not a single Krishna came forward to save my daughter.”
These words of anguish from the father of a 26-year-old doctor who died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Satara have struck a deep emotional chord across the country. The young medical officer, posted at a government hospital in Phaltan, was found hanging in her quarters on Thursday night.
In a message written on her palm and a four-page suicide note, she accused police sub-inspector Gopal Badane of repeated sexual assault and software engineer Prashant Bankar of relentless mental harassment over several months.
Her father, recalling the Mahabharata, said his daughter’s suffering mirrored Draupadi’s humiliation in the royal court: “In the epic, Krishna came to protect her honour. My daughter cried for help again and again, but no Krishna came for her. Everyone stood by and watched.”
The father of the 26-year-old doctor who died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Satara has sought the death penalty for the culprits responsible for her daughter’s death. The doctor, posted as a medical officer at a government hospital in Phaltan, was found hanging on Thursday night.… pic.twitter.com/soOMtzmDB7
— Abhijit Pathak (@aajtakabhijit) October 25, 2025
He has now made a direct appeal to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for justice: “My only demand is that the culprits should be punished with death by hanging. That is the only justice that will bring peace to her soul.”
According to family members, the doctor had submitted multiple complaints to senior police officers about harassment and pressure to issue fake medical fitness certificates to accused criminals. Despite this, no action was taken. “She begged the authorities to protect her dignity, but they failed her,” her brother said.
The suicide note also alleges that the doctor was coerced by senior police officials and even a Member of Parliament to falsify reports in criminal cases, and that she was threatened when she refused.
Following nationwide outrage, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, suspended the accused police officer and ordered a departmental inquiry.
In a statement to reporters and on X (formerly Twitter), Fadnavis wrote:
“The suicide of a young lady doctor and the message she left behind reflect unbearable pain and betrayal. We have immediately suspended the officer named in the letter and initiated a detailed probe. Anyone found guilty — directly or indirectly — will not be spared. Justice will be done, and swiftly.”
He also appealed to the public to “trust the process of law” and assured that “the system will not protect anyone guilty of such heinous abuse of power.”
Police arrested Prashant Bankar from Pune earlier today. He has been charged with abetment of suicide and remanded to four days in police custody. Sub-inspector Gopal Badane remains on the run and has been suspended from service.
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The case has triggered widespread outrage, with opposition leaders targeting the government for what they call systemic apathy and failures in law enforcement. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve said, “If those working under Fadnavis’s watch are harassing women, then he has failed as Home Minister and must resign.”
But for the father, the tragedy is deeply personal and timeless. “In every age, there is a Draupadi. In every age, there are those who look away. My daughter needed one Krishna — one person of courage — but this time, there was silence,” he said, his voice breaking.
