Phaltan suicide: Doctor's handwriting on note verified; cop, techie involved in harassment: Fadnavis

Nagpur, Dec 9 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that the handwriting on the note left behind by the woman doctor, who allegedly died by suicide in Phaltan, has been verified as her own, and the cop and software engineer, whose names were mentioned in it, were involved in harassing her.

The chief minister was responding to a question by BJP MLA Ameet Satam in the state assembly.

The doctor from a government hospital was found dead in a hotel in Phaltan town in western Maharashtra in October. In the suicide note written on her palm, she alleged that police sub-inspector Gopal Badane raped her on multiple occasions, while Prashant Bankar, a software engineer, mentally harassed her.

Satam questioned whether the handwriting in the note and the men whose names were mentioned in it were involved in her death.

"The doctor had written a note on her hand, and two names were mentioned in it. It has been found in the investigation that the handwriting matches hers," Fadnavis said during the Question Hour.

"Investigations have revealed that police sub-inspector Gopal Badane sexually exploited her by promising to marry her. It has been found that the second accused (Bankar) also cheated her. She died due to hanging and not by strangulation, as per the investigation as of now. However, we have ordered a judicial inquiry to probe if any other person was involved," he said, adding that a woman IPS officer was probing the case.

He said efforts were made to politicise the issue, which is quite "unfortunate".

The chief minister assured the House that women's safety was of paramount importance and that the government was committed to it.

He also said that the woman doctor was on an 11-month contract, so the government cannot consider giving a job to a family member on compassionate grounds, but assured that the family of the deceased will be given maximum assistance.

Replying to a question on the implementation of the Shakti Bill, Fadnavis said it has been returned to the state, as some of its provisions encroached on the Centre's powers.

However, the three new laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) dealt with women's safety more effectively, he said. PTI ND ARU