Opposition mounts offensive against Maharashtra CM Fadnavis over Satara rape murder

“That the doctor was driven to despair by rape and harassment, is a tragedy that shakes the conscience of any civilized society,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Mumbai: As politics deepened over the Phaltan rape-suicide incident involving a 28-year-old lady doctor, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi led the charge saying that the incident was an example of “institutional murder” even as Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seemed to give a clean chit to a former BJP MP and sitting MLA who were being targeted.

However, both Gandhi, the Congress leader and Fadnavis came under criticism as they revealed the identity of the victim doctor and for naming her in a post on X and while addressing a public meeting, respectively.

“That the doctor was driven to despair by rape and harassment, is a tragedy that shakes the conscience of any civilized society,” Gandhi said leading the attack of the Maha Vikas Aghadi-I.N.D.I.A opposition bloc.

“A promising doctor, who aspired to alleviate the pain of others, became a victim of persecution by criminals entrenched in a corrupt system and power structure. The very authority tasked with protecting the public from criminals committed the most heinous crime against this innocent woman — rape and exploitation,” he said.

“According to reports, some influential individuals associated with the BJP also attempted to pressure her into corruption,” Gandhi said, hitting out at the ruling party and the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maha Yuti dispensation. “This is the most despicable example of a criminally protected ideology. This is not a suicide—it is an institutional murder. When power becomes a shield for criminals, from whom can justice be expected?,” he said, adding that the Congress stands with the family of the victim.

Addressing a public meeting at Phaltan in Satara after laying the foundation stone of several programmes, Fadnavis, who is also the state Home Minister, said that he would not rest till justice was done.

He accused the opposition MVA of politicising the serious crime, however, assured that he would never allow them to succeed.

“An attempt was made to drag the names of (BJP’s) former Madha MP Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar and (NCP’s) Phaltan MLA Sachin Patil…people know Deva Bhau…if I had an iota of doubt I would have cancelled the visit,” the Chief Minister said.

As far as investigations are concerned, the Satara police have arrested two persons that the girl named in the suicide note that she wrote on her left palm with a pen before hanging herself to death.

The victim hailed from Kawadgaon village in Wadwani tehsil in Beed district.

The police has arrested Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane, who raped her on multiple occasions, while software engineer Prashant Bankar, the son of her landlord, who caused mental harassment to her. The duo have been remanded to police custody.

The family members of the victim alleged that political people in Phaltan often asked her to change medical reports as she used to be regularly on autopsy duty, which she complained to higher authorities, however, no action was taken.