There is a new development in suicide case of Dr Payal Tadvi, a second-year gynaecology student, whose death shook the entire state. A state-appointed committee formed to look into the suicide has submitted a report, which has confirmed that Tadvi was subjected to ragging. But the committee found no evidence of caste-based discrimination, which was the main accusation.
The 16-page report is with the medical education department and is set to be submitted to Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan in a few days. The four-member committee recorded the statements of 32 people, including doctors, hostel inmates, family members of Tadvi and parents of the three accused doctors — Dr Bhakti Mehare, Dr Ankita Khandelwal and Dr Hema Ahuja, presently in judicial custody. The report observes that the senior doctor’s negligence led to a situation where Tadvi felt pushed to committing suicide.
But, the state-appointed committee, in its report, has not recommended any action against the department head or the three final-year students, reported the leading daily. Instead, it gave a series of recommendations to prevent ragging, advising medical colleges to hold a meeting of students, teachers and parents once every three months to discuss issues. The report also advised that counselling mechanism needs to be strengthened for students.
Tadvi, who belonged to the Bhil Adivasi community, committed suicide on May 22 after allegedly facing casteist abuse from the accused at the Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai, where she worked.
After Tadvi’s death, the three doctors denied the accusations in a letter to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors, and demanded a “fair inquiry”. The association, however, suspended them on the basis of findings of a preliminary investigation. Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Meher and Ankita Khandelwal of BYL Nair Hospital were arrested on May 29 on charges of abetment of suicide. They broke down in the court, saying they cannot stay in jail anymore, after the special court said it would hear arguments on June 17.
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