KOLHAPUR: A 44-year-old gynaecologist from Bibvewadi, Pune, was found dead under suspicious circumstances near her car along the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway in Islampur, Sangli district, on Tuesday evening. The woman, whose wrist was deeply slit and neck bore injury marks, was discovered lying near the rear of her hatchback, roughly 200 km from Pune.
The deceased, a mother of two, was reportedly driving alone from Pune to Nipani in Karnataka before turning back and stopping near Islampur. Police said the evidence gathered so far, including CCTV footage from highway toll booths and nearby establishments, confirms she was traveling alone.
Inspector Sanjay Harugade of Islampur police told TOI, “Her mobile phone had been switched off since Tuesday morning. She had informed her family that she was heading to work, but deviated from her usual route.”
A preliminary police probe suggests the possibility of death by suicide, though investigators are not ruling out foul play. A blade was found at the scene, and a trail of blood led from the driver’s seat to the rear of the vehicle, where her body was discovered.
“Four self-inflicted cuts were found on her wrist, and superficial marks were seen on her neck—possibly an attempt to injure the jugular vein. The postmortem indicates death occurred between 7:30 and 8:00 pm due to excessive bleeding from a severed wrist vein,” Harugade added.
A passerby had alerted police after noticing the woman lying motionless near the car. She was taken to the sub-district government hospital, where she was declared dead.
Police have registered a case under Section 194 (investigation of unnatural death) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita. They are examining all possible angles, including suicide, homicide, or coercion.
Investigators revealed the woman had been suffering from depression, reportedly exacerbated by the closure of a clinic she and her husband ran in Mulund, Mumbai, which shut down during the Covid pandemic. The couple relocated to Pune, where she began working at a multi-speciality hospital. She had been associated with the facility for about two months and had taken leave for 15 of those days, according to a hospital spokesperson. “There were no notable professional or personal concerns involving the hospital,” the spokesperson said, extending condolences to the family.
The couple has a son studying in Class X and a daughter in Class VII.
Maharashtra Legislative Council’s Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe has urged police to conduct a thorough investigation. “Given the nature of the injuries, it is critical to determine whether this was suicide or a homicidal act. Police should scrutinize her call logs, social media chats, emails, and CCTV footage to establish the truth,” she said.
Sangli Superintendent of Police Sandip Ghuge confirmed that no formal complaint has been received from the family yet, who are currently grieving. “We are awaiting a detailed report from the medical team regarding the injury patterns. All technical evidence is being collected and examined,” he added.
The case continues to raise unsettling questions, and investigators are working to piece together the final hours of the doctor’s life to determine what led to her tragic end.
