Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 6 (HBTV): A suspended Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), Gopal Badane, has been dismissed from service by the Special Inspector General (IG) of Kolhapur Range, Sunil Phulari, in connection with the Satara woman doctor suicide case, officials said on Wednesday.
According to Maharashtra Police, Special IG Phulari issued the dismissal order after a departmental review of the serious allegations against the officer, who was earlier arrested in the case and suspended from duty.
Earlier, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the death of the woman doctor posted at the Sub-District Hospital in Satara. The SIT is being led by IPS officer Tejaswi Satpute, who has been directed to begin the probe immediately.
The formation of the SIT followed a directive by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to the Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure a thorough investigation into the case. The opposition parties had also demanded a high-level inquiry and called for the arrest of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ranjeetsinh Naik Nimbalkar, son of former Shiv Sena MP Hindurao Naik Nimbalkar, in connection with the matter.
The woman doctor was found dead in a hotel room in Satara, with a note written on her hand that allegedly named a police official and two others as responsible for her death. Investigators revealed that the note accused the individuals of subjecting her to physical and mental harassment, which led her to take the extreme step.
Police subsequently arrested PSI Gopal Badane and another accused, Prashant Bankar, under charges of rape and abetment to suicide. Both were produced before the Additional District and Sessions Court in Phaltan on October 26 and remanded to police custody till October 30.
Chief Minister Fadnavis had earlier assured that strict action would be taken against those found guilty, stressing that politicising such a sensitive issue was inappropriate.
(ANI)