Police said the arrested accused Prashant Bankar was son of the landlord of the house where deceased Maharashtra doctor resided and was in relationship with her. Maharashtra Police is investigating the death of a 29-year-old woman doctor who allegedly died by suicide in Satara district, naming in a note on her palm a police sub-inspector (PSI) and another man – Prashant Bankar – who the cops arrested on Friday night and said was in a relationship with the deceased.
Satara police arrested Prashant Bankar, who has been identified as the son of the landlord of the house where resided the Maharashtra doctor, who died by suicide on Thursday and had left a note on her palm, police said.
Who is Prashant Bankar?
According to the police officers, the doctor was posted as a medical officer in a Maharashtra government-run hospital in Satara’s Phaltan area on a contractual basis and was found hanging inside a hotel room in the town on Thursday night. A note, written on her palm in Marathi alleged that Phaltan City police station sub-inspector Gopal Badane had raped her four times, and that Prashant Bankar, physically and mentally harassed her for five months.
Prashant Bankar, a software engineer, was reportedly found hiding at a friend’s farmhouse near Pune and was taken into custody late Friday night. “The two were reportedly in a relationship before it turned sour,” an earlier HT report quoted an officer.
Officials privy to the investigation said the doctor had been living as a paying guest at a house in Phaltan’s Vidyanagar, where Prashant Bankar allegedly subjected her to mental and physical harassment. Preliminary probe has revealed that the doctor and Prashant Bankar were in contact through phone calls and messages on October 23, shortly before the alleged suicide.
“Crucial evidence about the events leading up to her death may emerge following Bankar’s arrest,” an officer said. Meanwhile, the doctor’s family has that a local Member of Parliament (MP) attempted to influence the investigation through an intermediary. Police have not confirmed these claims. The Phaltan police said Prashant Bankar is being interrogated, and further arrests are likely as the investigation continues.
