Maha woman doctor suicide: Rahul Gandhi speaks to family, promises justice
Beed: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, over the phone spoke to the family members of a woman doctor from Satara hospital in Maharashtra, who committed suicide, and assured them justice.
“Do not be afraid, we stand with you. The Congress Party will exert pressure on the government to ensure justice for the doctor,” he assured them.
LoP Rahul Gandhi also sought complete details of the case from the victim’s family and from Maharashtra Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal.
State Congress party in a post on X said, “In Satara, Maharashtra, a female doctor had committed suicide after being fed up with rape and harassment. Today, the Leader of the Opposition, @RahulGandhi spoke to her family over the phone and assured them of delivering justice. During this time, Maharashtra Congress President @INCHarshsapkal and IYC President @UdayBhanuIYC were present there. What happened to the woman doctor raises serious questions about women’s safety in society. We stand with her family—we will ensure justice is delivered at any cost.”
State Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal, who visited the family of the woman doctor, has demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be formed and a probe be conducted under the supervision of a High Court judge, and that former BJP MP Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar be immediately arrested.
“It would not be wrong to say that the death of the young doctor from Beed district was not a suicide but a murder. The woman doctor took her life due to unbearable pressure and harassment,” he claimed.
Speaking to the media after the visit, Sapkal said that the woman doctor was subjected to immense pressure to do wrongful acts and was severely harassed.
“Several incidents exposing Naik Nimbalkar’s hooliganism have already come to light. What is infuriating is that even before any investigation began, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis publicly gave a clean chit to Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar. This is outrageous. The probe should be conducted outside Phaltan, under the supervision of a senior woman officer,” he said.
He also claimed that Congress will not remain silent and will take to the streets to ensure justice for a woman doctor.
Sapkal further stated that the role of the State Women’s Commission in this case is equally disappointing. Instead of meeting the victim’s family to gather facts, they first met the police and tried to cover up the matter.
“The Commission should focus on addressing injustices against women, but instead, it chose to defend the police. Not a single representative from the women doctors’ community has spoken up. During earlier incidents in Beed, a local MLA from the ruling party would speak to the media every day, but now he is silent. Minister Pankaja Munde too has remained silent — she must speak up, setting aside political pressure from the Chief Minister,” he said.
The 28-year-old doctor from Phaltan town in Satara District died by suicide on the night of 23rd October. She left a suicide note on her palm and a detailed four-page letter which accused two men of harassment.
Satara Police have arrested the accused Police Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane (accused of repeated rape) and Prashant Bankar (a software engineer and son of her landlord, accused of mental harassment). Both have been sent to police custody.
