29 May,2019 03:20 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online desk
The accused doctors Bhakti, Hema and Ankita
A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday remanded three senior women doctors, arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a Dr. Payal Tadvi by passing casteist slurs at her at a state-run hospital in Mumbai, in police custody till May 31.
The accused identified as Bhakti Mehere, Hema Ahuja and Ankita Khandelwal were booked after their 26-year-old colleague Payal Tadvi at B Y L Nair Hospital in Mumbai allegedly hanged herself at her hostel room on May 22.
Additional Sessions Judge R M Sadrani remanded the three accused in police custody till May 31 after accepting the prosecution's arguments, seeking their custody for interrogation to ascertain if they misplaced or destroyed Payal Tadvi's purported suicide note.
The accused have been booked under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Anti-Ragging Act, the IT Act and section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
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Earlier, Tadvi's parents protested at the hospital in Mumbai where she worked. Other protesters also joined her mother Abeda and husband Salman, demanding stringent action against the three seniors. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and other Dalit and tribal organisations also held protests outside the hospital. The deceased's mother sought to know whether the government would take responsibility for the safety of students like her daughter, who are pursuing higher education.
"Payal used to tell me about the torture which she was facing by her seniors on petty issues. They threw files on her face in front of patients. She used to tell me not to give a written complaint against her seniors despite being harassed by them. She would say that doing so would adversely impact their career," Abeda said.
The distraught mother claimed Tadvi would have been the first woman MD (doctor of medicine) from their community. The deceased's husband, who is also a doctor, said it was possible that Payal was "murdered" by the three women doctors. The state women's commission also took cognisance of the matter and issued a notice to the hospital authorities. On Tuesday, it wrote a letter to the Mumbai police commissioner, seeking a thorough investigation in the case.
The anti-ragging committee of Nair Hospital also submitted its report in Tadvi's suicide case to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. State minister for Medical Education Girish Mahajan visited the hospital on Tuesday and met the protesters and parents of the victim.
The Mumbai Congress demanded that all the three doctors booked in the case be tried in a fast-track court, terming Tadvi's suicide as "unfortunate" and a serious issue. Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said those accused of abetting Tadvi's suicide should be booked under IPC section 302 (murder). He said the issue would be raised in the state legislature session starting from June 17.
The three accused on Monday sought a "fair probe" in the case. In a letter to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), the accused said they wanted the college to conduct a fair probe in the matter and "give justice" to them. The MARD has suspended the three doctors.
-with inputs from PTI
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