Mundhe, a government medical officer in Satara, accused police of sexual assault and said she was pressured by a Member of Parliament’s aides to issue false fitness certificates for accused persons.
BY PC Bureau
October 26, 2025: The investigation into the death of Dr. Sampada Mundhe, the 28-year-old medical officer from Satara who died by suicide last week, has entered a politically explosive phase after her four-page handwritten note surfaced, naming a police sub-inspector accused of rape and alleging direct intervention by a Member of Parliament (MP) in pressuring her to issue fake medical fitness certificates for accused persons.
The note, accessed by investigators and now verified as authentic, forms the cornerstone of the expanding probe ordered by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine both the sexual assault allegations and the alleged political interference.
Suicide Note Points to Political Pressure
In her final letter, written over four tightly filled pages and recovered from her hotel room in Phaltan, Dr. Mundhe described a months-long ordeal involving police harassment, repeated sexual assault, and official coercion.
The note specifically recounts an incident in which two men claiming to be personal assistants of an unnamed Member of Parliament visited her government hospital and connected her to the MP via phone. During the call, she alleged, the MP “warned” her to issue a false fitness certificate for an accused individual—despite her refusal and lack of medical examination.
“I was threatened that my posting, salary, and safety would be in danger if I didn’t cooperate,” she wrote. “The police officer and the MP’s men told me I would be finished if I spoke about it.”
Investigators confirmed that call detail records (CDRs) from her phone corroborate at least one conversation with a number traced to a political aide. Officials said the MP’s name is “being withheld pending verification,” but sources indicated that he represents a western Maharashtra constituency and is a known figure in the ruling coalition.
Dr who died by suicide wrote she was called by Satara MP’s PA to give fitness despite high BP of criminal. After refusing, she was harassed by police. Despite complaints, no action taken. Shame on this corrupt system. Fair & transparent probe must be done.@CMOMaharashtra pic.twitter.com/yjvAIZ4kRt
— Dr. Ritidhwaj (@DRitudhwaj) October 24, 2025
CM Orders SIT, Faces Political Heat
Chief Minister Fadnavis, who also handles the Home Department, directed Satara SP Tushar Doshi to hand over the case files and evidence to the newly formed SIT led by an Additional Director General-ranked officer. “The SIT will probe every angle—including political involvement—without bias,” a senior Home Department official said.
Opposition parties, however, accused the government of protecting the MP and delaying disclosure. Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar demanded the MP’s immediate identification, calling the silence “a deliberate cover-up.”
“Dr. Mundhe’s note is clear. She named an MP and described threats from his aides. Why is the government hiding his identity? The police who ignored her complaint and the politician who threatened her must both face arrest,” Wadettiwar said.
NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule echoed the demand, saying: “If a Member of Parliament is involved in intimidating a doctor into falsifying records, this is not just a crime—it’s an abuse of office. The Chief Minister must make his name public.”
Forensic Verification and Evidence Trail
Forensic experts examining Dr. Mundhe’s phone, laptop, and handwritten notes have confirmed the presence of pressure-linked conversations between her and police personnel, as well as messages from unknown numbers associated with the alleged aides.
A senior investigator said, “The tone and sequence of the communication clearly point to coercion. We are verifying whether one of the numbers belongs to the MP’s official office.”
Officials also revealed that Mundhe’s phone contained a draft email addressed to the Satara Superintendent of Police, dated early October, where she mentioned “political pressure to sign documents for accused criminals.” The email was never sent.
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Women’s Commission and IMA Step In
The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) has formally requested the Home Department to disclose whether the MP’s name was redacted in official documents and why her earlier written complaint, filed on June 19, 2025, did not trigger protection or investigation.
“The existence of an MP in the note changes the gravity of this case. It’s no longer limited to local-level harassment—it’s systemic intimidation,” MSCW chairperson Rupali Chakankar said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has intensified its campaign for reforms, calling the case a “tipping point” for doctors’ safety in rural Maharashtra. The IMA’s letter to the CM, the Health Minister, and the PMO urged the creation of an independent grievance cell for medical officers and legal protection against police and political coercion.
Public Outcry and Political Fallout
The case has ignited protests across Maharashtra’s medical community, with doctors holding candlelight vigils in Satara, Pune, Aurangabad, and Beed. The hashtag #JusticeForDrSampada continues to trend nationally.
Civil society groups have demanded that the MP be named publicly and that the case be transferred to the CBI if local investigators face political obstruction.
Guardian Minister Shambhuraj Desai, who also represents Satara, told reporters: “No one will be spared, no matter how influential. The MP’s role, if any, will be examined impartially.”
However, insiders in the Home Department admitted unease over the growing political implications. “If the MP’s name becomes public, it will have far-reaching consequences within the ruling coalition,” one senior bureaucrat said on condition of anonymity.
Systemic Questions
Legal experts say the case underscores chronic failures in protecting government-employed women from institutional abuse. “This is not an isolated incident but part of a deeper pattern—where political power shields misconduct and victims are silenced through fear,” said lawyer Flavia Agnes, a women’s rights advocate.
As the SIT prepares its first interim report, the central questions remain unanswered:
Why were Dr. Mundhe’s repeated written complaints ignored—and who gave the political backing that emboldened her abusers?
Until those answers emerge, Maharashtra’s government faces one of its most damaging credibility crises in recent years.
