Young Government Doctor in Maharashtra Alleges Rape by Cop, Pressure by MP before Taking Her Life

A 28-year-old contract doctor at a government hospital in Satara district of Maharashtra was found dead late last week, a grim discovery that has unleashed a wave of disturbing allegations of rape, institutional pressure and political interference in what was initially recorded as a suicide.

The doctor, posted at the sub-district hospital in Phaltan, checked in Wednesday night at a hotel near her workplace and was found dead in her room the following evening. According to authorities, she was discovered hanging and left behind a note written on her palm in which she alleged rape by a police sub-inspector, and mental harassment by another individual who was reportedly the son of her landlord.

Beyond the violence she alleged, the doctor claimed she was being pressured by police officials to issue a fitness certificate for a woman with high blood pressure, thereby facilitating her custody by law enforcement. She also named a Member of Parliament, accusing him of calling her and pressuring her over the refusal to issue the certificate. Her complaint to the deputy superintendent of police in June, she said, was met with inaction.

Allegations of harassment and institutional failure
In her written statement submitted to an internal inquiry committee, the doctor said the sub-inspector had sexually assaulted her repeatedly. She further alleged that police officials tried to force her to alter post-mortem or medical reports, and that she was taunted for being from the Beed district.

Satara district police have registered First Information Reports (FIRs) under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rape and abetment of suicide. The sub-inspector is currently absconding, according to Inspector General Sunil Phulari.

Local political figures have called for a swift, independent investigation. A leader from the Nationalist Congress Party described the case as “a grave injustice” if her complaints were ignored because of her district of origin.

The broader implications

This case highlights a convergence of multiple systemic anxieties: the vulnerability of young women serving as government employees, the overlap of law enforcement and medical responsibilities in police custody, and the spectre of political pressure on ostensibly independent professionals. The doctor was nearing the end of her second eleven-month contract; according to the civil surgeon, she often stayed overnight at the hotel after lengthy hospital duties, a reflection of the burdens faced by under-resourced district medical staff.

Human-rights activists point out that when law-enforcement officials are simultaneously the victims’ alleged assailants and the “clients” of medical certification, the traditional safeguards built into hospital systems can fail. In this case, the doctor alleged being asked to certify a detainee unfit for treatment, then issue a certificate to the contrary for police custody purposes.