The Mumbai Police on Tuesday arrested all three doctors accused in the suicide case of a 23-year-old resident doctor belonging to the Bhil Adivasi community in Maharashtra. Payal Tadvi, who worked at BYL Nair Hospital hospital in Mumbai, hanged herself on May 22 after allegedly facing casteist slurs from senior doctors at the hospital.
The doctors – Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehare, and Dr Ankita Khandelwal – have been booked on the charges of abetment to suicide under the Indian Penal Code and sections under the Ragging Act and the Atrocities Act.
Earlier, the doctors had approached a session court in Mumbai seeking anticipatory bail. They alleged that the claims by Abeda Tadvi, the mother of the victim, about her daughter committing suicide after facing discrimination and torture by them are false. The bail plea of the accused will be heard on Wednesday.
Mumbai: The three doctors named in the #Nair Hospital doctor #PayalTadvi suicide case have moved court for anticipatory bail. Their bail pleas will be heard on Wednesday
— TOI Mumbai (@TOIMumbai) May 28, 2019
On May 10, Abeda Tadvi, the mother of the victim, in a formal complaint to the Nair hospital had alleged that the Payal’s seniors are harassing her on the basis of their caste.
Further, Salman Tadvi, the husband of the victim, alleged that she was ragged and humiliated on WhatsApp because she belonged to a Scheduled Tribe. “She was picked on for being lower caste and was ragged quite a bit by her seniors. The seniors said they will not let her study. They used to humiliate her on WhatsApp too,” said Salman to NDTV.
Evidence Indicates That Payal Was Subjected To Casteist Abuse
The anti-ragging committee formed to look into the suicide case of the 23-year-old doctor has found prima facie evidence that she faced casteist slurs, reported Hindustan Times. The committee submitted its report to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) on Tuesday.
“The investigations are over and the report proves the involvement of the three doctors,” said Maharashtra medical education minister Girish Mahajan.
A five-member committee of senior professors will look into the report submitted by the anti-ragging committee. “Our committee will study the report and take appropriate action against the accused within two days,” said Dr Kalidas Chavan, registrar, MUHS.
Noting the gravity of the situation, the medical education department has also appointed a four-member committee of senior doctors to review the 15-year-old anti-ragging norms.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has taken suo moto cognisance of the case and issued a notice to the director of the hospital to investigate the matter and submit an action-taken report, reported ANI.
