Government Doctor’s Death Exposes Harrowing Clash With Satara Police And Political Figures
Satara doctor found dead after alleging police harassment, sexual assault, and political pressure, sparking an investigation into systemic threats and coercion in her workplace.
Two days after a 29-year-old government doctor was found dead in her hotel room in Phaltan, Satara, the city remains in shock. Hindustan Times has learned that the young medical officer had been locked in a tense and prolonged standoff with local police, with allegations of harassment, coercion, and threats painting a disturbing picture.
Documents obtained by Hindustan Times reveal that the doctor, who served at the Phaltan Sub-District Hospital, had lodged multiple complaints against several police officers. In turn, the police had filed counter-claims against her, creating a web of accusations that would later come under scrutiny.
In a detailed four-page statement submitted to a probe committee in August 2025, the doctor outlined instances of alleged harassment. One chilling note stood out: she wrote that she was being targeted because of her Beed district roots and warned, “if anything happens to me, the police will be responsible.” Just over two months later, on the night of October 23, she was discovered hanging in her hotel room.
Her death is further clouded by grave allegations of sexual assault. In a suicide note written on the palm of her hand, she claimed she was raped multiple times by a police officer and harassed by another man.
Adding another dimension to the case, she alleged that a member of parliament (MP) had pressured her on multiple occasions to manipulate medical reports. When she resisted, she claimed, threats followed.
At the core of the conflict was persistent police pressure on the doctor to issue falsified fitness certificates and post-mortem reports, intended to facilitate the custodial process for accused individuals.
The tension first surfaced in a letter she sent on June 19, 2025, to the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Phaltan. Naming specific officers, she complained about repeated attempts to coerce her into issuing fitness certificates for individuals brought in by the police. Among those she accused was PSI Gopal Badane, whom she alleged had sexually assaulted her.
When her complaints went unaddressed, she filed an RTI request with the SDPO in August, seeking updates on her June 19 grievance. Meanwhile, in July, Phaltan police officers lodged their own complaints with the Satara Civil Surgeon. They accused the doctor of deliberately declaring accused individuals “not fit,” delaying their arrest and custodial remand.
In response, the Civil Surgeon appointed a two-member committee to investigate. In her four-page statement to this committee, the doctor reiterated her claims against the police and alleged political interference. She described receiving threatening calls from the personal assistant of an MP, who accused her of favoring accused persons because of her Beed origins. She did not name the MP.
Her statement detailed incidents where she refused to compromise her medical duties. On July 31, 2025, she wrote, police insisted on taking a patient back despite her decision to admit him for treatment due to high blood pressure. She also recounted examining two other accused individuals—Malhari Chavan and Swapnil Jadhav—referring one for advanced testing and conducting the other locally. The fitness certificate for Jadhav, she claimed, was eventually issued following instructions from Dr. Anshuman Dhumal, Medical Superintendent of Satara District.
She alleged that soon after, two PAs of the MP arrived at the hospital and put her on a call with the MP, who scolded her for “not issuing certificates as desired by the police.” PSI Gopal Badane, she claimed, had once entered the emergency ward and threatened her directly. Her complaints to senior officials, including Dr. Dhumal, were reportedly ignored.
Dr. Dhumal, however, has denied these allegations, stating, “We have not received any formal complaint in which the female doctor accused police officials of harassment. She had only presented her claims to the probe committee, and subsequent instructions were based on the committee’s report.”
From the police perspective, a senior Satara officer told Hindustan Times that the doctor was “reluctant to conduct pre-arrest medical examinations at night” and frequently declared accused individuals unfit without adequate justification, forcing police to keep security stationed at the hospital and delaying the custodial process. The officer added that she refused to be available round-the-clock, prompting police to seek a replacement.
Civil Surgeon Dr. Yuvraj Karpe confirmed the formation of the two-member committee. “After hearing both sides in August 2025, we reminded the doctor that medical officers must be available 24x7. We observed a noticeable change in her behavior thereafter,” he said.
Both the doctor’s letters and police complaints are currently being re-examined as part of the ongoing investigation into her death, which has left Satara grappling with questions about harassment, accountability, and the pressures faced by frontline medical professionals.
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