Ragged by seniors on reservation quota, Medical student commits suicide

Dr Payal Tadvi, a postgraduate student of gynaecology committed suicide on May 22 after being allegedly tortured by three of her seniors. Hours before Dr Payal died, she told her mother Abeda Tadvi that she was unable to bear the torment from them, who have been absconding since they learned about her suicide. A case has been registered against them, which includes sections from the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, reports Mid Day.

Tadvi's mother, who is suffering from cancer told TOI that on Wednesday her daughter called her cried told her about mental torture by these three accused doctors. She alleged that these doctors had created a WhatsApp group where they would tease her with casteist slurs and these chats have been submitted to the police.

Dr Payal had joined the PG course a year ago; however, soon she was allegedly subjected to torture and ragging. Her father Salim told mid-day, "The first six months were fine; some words had been exchanged between seniors and juniors, but Payal never thought it would lead to torture. As soon as it happened in December 2018, she told us about it. We discussed this with her husband, Dr. Salman [Tadvi], who said things like these keep happening and she should just ignore them."

Dr Payal was allegedly taunted about her caste and her admission to the course through the reserved quota. Abeda said, "We had started reporting this to the officials concerned. We had even met a lecturer and the hostel warden, who had called these three seniors and asked them not to behave this way with Payal."

"No other action was taken against the trio." Abeda added, "Had they acted swiftly and shown sensitivity, my daughter would have been alive today. I had called her in the afternoon of May 22, when she told me her seniors were still torturing her. I told her that her father and I were coming to Mumbai to file a complaint at the hospital and the police station, but she couldn't bear it any longer."

Dr Payal was found in her room hanging in her dupatta from a ceiling fan. Her mother Abeda filed an FIR against the seniors, identified as Dr. Hema Ahuja, Dr. Bhakti Mehar and Dr. Ankita Khandelwal.

"We come from the tribal category; my daughter had worked tremendously hard to get a seat in the MBBS and PG courses. She was very hardworking and sensitive and it was her dream to work as a gynaecologist in rural areas. But all of those dreams have gone in vain," said Salim, adding, "I want cops to punish these girls as well as officials who didn't pay heed to her complaints and tried to sweep everything under the carpet."

Speaking about the FIR, Deepak Kundal, ACP, Agripada division, said, "We have registered a case under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act, and IT Act. We are taking statements of all the related people and will take statements of department officials, if needed." Another police officer said, "The accused are untraceable. We are trying to establish their whereabouts. We have asked the hospital administration to cooperate with us."