Satara doctor performed 113 postmortems in 2 years, inquiry reveals

As per TOI sources, the number of postmortems conducted by her was significantly higher than those performed by other doctors assigned similar duties during her two years of service.

According to the data, the doctor performed 30 out of 144 postmortems in 2023, 47 out of 149 in 2024, and 36 out of 138 postmortems till October 2025, before her death. 

Also read- Satara doctor suicide: Doctors demand SIT probe, Rs 5 crore compensation

Medical Dialogues had reported that a woman doctor working at a Phaltan Sub-District Hospital in Maharashtra’s Satara district allegedly died by suicide, leaving a note on her palm, accusing a police officer and a software engineer of rape and mental harassment. Both accused were arrested in connection with the case.

The doctor, hailing from Beed district in the Marathwada region of central Maharashtra and posted at a government hospital in Satara district, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan town on Thursday night. In the suicide note written on her palm, she alleged that police sub-inspector Badane raped her on multiple occasions, while Bankar, a software engineer, mentally harassed her.

According to the hospital authorities, the doctor was not forced to handle the excessive number of postmortems. They said she was advised to share the workload, but continued to report for duty more frequently than others.

Officials also said the doctor was relieved of her postmortem duties several times, including when she was preparing for the NEET-PG exam, but each time she requested reinstatement because she wished to continue working in Phaltan.

This has raised serious questions about why she continued to work beyond the normal limit.

The revelation comes after her family, speaking at a press conference in Beed on Monday evening, raised serious concerns about the workload she was assigned. They questioned why she was being made to handle so many postmortems compared to other doctors.

Satara district civil surgeon Dr. Yuvraj Karape said no one had forced her to take up postmortems. “She was authorized by the hospital superintendent to assign duties within the team. The inquiry panel set up by the deputy director of health found that she reported to duty more frequently than other doctors.

"We want to know how many postmortems my sister carried out in comparison to other doctors. Why was she asked to carry out so many postmortems? We also want a detailed investigation into all the postmortems she did, as we believe there must be pressure on her to change the findings,” said the sister.

In response, Satara district civil surgeon Yuvraj Karape said, "The doctor was not asked by anyone to take up postmortems. In fact, the hospital superintendent had authorised her to assign duties by conveying the same on an internal media group. An inquiry panel set up by the deputy director of health, Satara, after the doctor’s death, found out that she reported on duty many more times than her similarly placed colleagues.”

"The hospital had three permanent and three contractual medical officers. The doctor was thrice relieved of her responsibility under different circumstances, like studying for the NEET-PG exam, and was reinstated each time at her request because she wanted to stay in Phaltan. In order to accommodate her, a permanent doctor who was out of work for some reason was dropped, and she was assigned the duty in his place,” Karape said.

Speaking to TOI, Medical Superintendent Anshuman Dhumal said, "A day before she was found dead, the hospital staff, including the doctor, burnt firecrackers on Diwali. At that time, I told her to take leave and visit her parents since they live in a faraway place, unlike other hospital staff who have their families with them. Also, not just me, the nursing staff also advised her to take leave. She used to insist on working for multiple 24-hour shifts in one go. Since Jan this year, she carried out 36 postmortems, another doctor carried out 24, and I myself, despite being a gynaecologist, performed three postmortems,” said Dhumal.

Autopsy says death due to hanging, family alleges phone tampering

Controversy surrounds her death, whose post-mortem mentioned the cause of death as "asphyxia due to hanging", but her family claimed someone accessed her phone using her fingerprint to erase crucial data after her death.

The police in Satara's Phaltan town received the post-mortem report on Tuesday, a senior police official said, adding the cause of death was cited as "asphyxia due to hanging", indicating the doctor died by suicide.

The post-mortem, conducted at a state-run hospital, included preserving the viscera for chemical analysis at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), a mandatory step in unnatural death cases.

Police also spoke about other details regarding the doctor's alleged suicide note, saying that the deceased, a right-handed writer, penned a note on her palm and captured a photo of it on her mobile phone. The pen used for the note was recovered near the body, the official told PTI. 

The note accused Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane of repeated rape and software engineer Prashant Bankar, who is the son of her landlord, of mental harassment. Both were arrested on October 25.

Police said the last communication on the doctor's phone, involving a call and WhatsApp messages with Prashant Bankar, was recorded at 9:58 pm.

Furthermore, the official said there was no evidence of forced entry into the hotel room, ruling out the presence of anyone else during the incident.

In a separate development, the victim's relatives from her native Beed district have demanded constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) alleging that crucial data was deleted from her mobile phone after her death.

The victim's uncle claimed that her phone was accessed using her fingerprint after she died, leading to the erasing of "vital information related to the incident."

On Monday, family members of the doctor demanded that the government set up an SIT to probe the case, and said the trial should be conducted in a fast-track court in Beed, and not in Phaltan, where the incident took place.

"We were informed about the doctor's death by hanging, but by the time we reached the spot (hotel room), her body had already been taken to the hospital. We later found out that a suicide note was written on her hand," the uncle of the deceased told reporters on Monday night.

They also pointed to the deceased doctor's WhatsApp 'last seen' status, which allegedly showed activity even after her death, raising suspicion that someone else had operated the phone.

"We suspect that her mobile phone was tampered with after her death....Her WhatsApp 'last seen' status appears to show activity after her death, which raises further suspicion that the phone was operated by someone else after her death," the uncle said.

The family has also demanded that the case be heard in a Beed district court to ensure an impartial investigation.

Dr Omprakash Shete, the state government's representative coordinating with the woman doctor's family, visited her native place on Monday evening and assured the kin that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would be briefed on the matter to ensure justice. Her family also submitted a memorandum of demands to him.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also spoke to the victim's family members over the phone and assured their support till justice is delivered.

Residents of Wadwani in Beed observed a bandh on Tuesday, demanding a probe by an SIT into the alleged suicide of the woman doctor who hailed from the region.

Satara Police, meanwhile, are taking steps to authenticate the suicide note. Samples of the doctor's handwriting and the photo of the note on her palm have been sent to the Maharashtra CID to check for any discrepancies.

Regarding the doctor's professional life, a police official noted that the doctor, who had been transferred from Wai as a medical officer, had renewed her contract at the Phaltan sub-district hospital at least twice.

The official suggested that she "had an option to change the place of duty" if work pressure was an issue, indicating that police are actively investigating various possible motives and angles in the case.

Also read- Satara doctor suicide case: Accused sub-inspector in custody