Overview
- Officials say the state has constituted the Special Investigation Team and directed it to begin work immediately following Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s order to the DGP.
- The 28-year-old doctor was found dead in a Phaltan hotel on Oct. 23, with a palm note alleging repeated rape by sub-inspector Gopal Badane and harassment by Prashant Bankar; both are under arrest, and Badane has been suspended.
- Sources indicate the SIT is intended to shield the probe from local pressure after names of Satara police personnel surfaced and aides of former MP Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar were accused.
- The victim’s family, opposition leaders and medical associations had demanded a transparent, high-level investigation, and Rahul Gandhi spoke with the family to offer support.
- Activist Manoj Jarange met the family on Saturday and connected them with senior state leaders, who pledged cooperation with the investigation.