BYL Nair Hospital

Payal Tadvi Suicide Case: Protests Outside Mumbai Hospital as Accused Doctors Return to College

The development comes after a Supreme Court order allowed the doctors to resume their studies.

New Delhi: The three doctors, who had allegedly mentally tortured and discriminated against medical doctor Payal Tadvi, returned to their college BYL Nair Hospital on Monday, escorted by police vehicles, as Tadvi’s mother and several organisations protested against their return outside the institute.

The development comes a Supreme Court order on October 8 allowed the doctors – Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal – to resume their studies which had come to a halt after Payal ended her life on May 22.

Maintaining that the accused were “presumably innocent persons”, the court held that they were “entitled to pursue their course of study so long as exercise of said right does not hamper smooth conduct and progress of the prosecution.”

Several organisations, including Democratic Youth Federation of India, Jati Ant Sangarsh Samiti, Forum Against Oppression of Women and Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana protested outside the hospital on Monday.

Protest outside BYL Nair Hospital. Photo: Special arrangement

Payal’s mother, Abeda Tadvi, has written to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and the dean of BYL Nair Hospital, questioning the inaction against the three accused as per recommendations of the anti-ragging committee of the college where they all pursued their post-graduation degrees.

Urging the state to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s order, she said that by allowing the accused to return to college, the family was being subjected to grave injustice.

Tadvi also said that close to 250 witnesses – who had been cited in the case – and other alleged victims of caste-based torture were still at the college and hospital. Tadvi has maintained that the accused are influential and can possibly threaten or coerce the witnesses in the case.

Also read: ‘Caste System Snatched Her Away,’ Say Payal Tadvi’s Parents a Year After Her Death

After Tadvi was found dead in her hostel room, an inquiry conducted by the college ragging prevention committee found that she was harassed by her three seniors “in the form of ragging” and had recommended that the three be suspended immediately.

“For over a year, after the committee recommended that the three be suspended, the institute did not take any action. If they were found guilty of ragging, the institute could have taken necessary steps, but it was not done,” Abeda wrote.

Speaking to Times of India, Dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal said that the three doctors had joined college to resume their third year of postgraduate education. “They will be posted in Covid work like every other resident doctor,” he said.

The dean also said that students and the gynaecology department unit head had been sensitised about the case. “We discussed with the department head on how to bring them back on duty,” Bharmal told the Indian Express.

“It’s a Supreme Court order. What more can one say?” a doctor told TOI.

Dr J. G. Lalmalani, former Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors president told the Express that the three accused should have been allowed to pursue an education in another college.

The three doctors have been booked by the Mumbai police under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities).

Dr Payal Tadvi, who belonged to the Tadvi Bhil tribal community, had moved to Mumbai to pursue a post-graduation in gynaecology. She ended her life on May 22 after the three caste Hindu seniors allegedly mentally harassed and humiliated her

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. Icall, a counselling service run by TISS, has maintained a crowdsourced list of therapists across the country. You could also take them to the nearest hospital.

Payal Tadvi Suicide Case: Supreme Court Allows Accused Doctors to Pursue Higher Education

In spite of opposition from the Maharashtra government and Payal’s mother, the court has disregarded the fact that the three accused will be studying in the same college where witnesses of the case are enrolled.

Mumbai: The three doctors – Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal – who allegedly tormented and discriminated against medical doctor Payal Tadvi, pushing her to end her life, will now return to the same BYL Nair Hospital in south Mumbai to complete their pending education. The Supreme Court on Thursday, October 8, allowed their application to pursue studies which had come to a halt after Payal ended her life on May 22.

This order was passed despite staunch opposition to it by the Maharashtra state government, the Mumbai police and also Payal’s mother Abeda Tadvi. All three had contended that allowing the accused back in the same college would jeopardise the trial and that a transfer to another college was not possible as per the rules.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices U.U. Lalit, Vineet Saran and Ajay Rastogi, on October 8, while allowing the accused persons’ application for permission to continue with the studies observed that they can return to the same college from October 12 but under “court-imposed restrictions”.

While passing an order in favour of the accused doctors, the apex court observed that, “If the law presumes an accused to be innocent till his guilt is proved, the appellants (accused persons) as presumably innocent persons, are entitled to all the fundamental rights including the right to liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and are entitled to pursue their course of study so long as exercise of said right does not hamper smooth conduct and progress of the prosecution.” Since all three accused persons are from outside Mumbai, the court further observed that, “The appellants do not appear to be original residents of Mumbai and, as such, it cannot be said that they or their families have deep-rooted presence in Mumbai.”

Also read: Maharashtra Govt Opposes Accused Doctors’ Petition to Pursue Education

In August, last year, the Bombay high court had granted the three accused persons bail under several conditions including suspension of their licences issued by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) till the conclusion of the trial. Soon after, the trio had filed an appeal before the court, seeking relaxation of the conditions, including revocation of their suspension. When the court refused to give them relief, they filed an appeal before the Supreme Court and sought the court’s intervention in letting them resume their studies.

Even when the Supreme Court was still hearing their appeal, the MMC had discreetly gone ahead with revoking the suspension of the medical licences of two (Mehare and Khandelwal) of the three accused doctors. Ahuja is not registered with the MMC but with the medical council of another state. She is in the process of getting registered with the MMC on the high court’s direction.

The MMC’s order, Abeda Tadvi shared, was passed just days before the lockdown. “I, as a complainant, ought to have been informed about such a big decision but the MMC kept me in the dark. I found out only when it was mentioned months later in the Supreme Court,” she told The Wire.

While the MMC order came as a major blow, Tadvi’s family, the state government and the Mumbai police continued to oppose the accused application in the Supreme Court.

Also read: ‘Caste System Snatched Her Away,’ Say Payal Tadvi’s Parents a Year After Her Death

The state government had opposed this application and had filed two separate affidavits – by the Mumbai police and the state’s Medical Education and Drugs department – on September 8, claiming that their demands “don’t deserve to be considered” and there is a “grave sense of hostility” against the accused persons in the college they had once studied.

They relied on the anti-ragging committee’s report which had found the three accused guilty of tormenting Payal and her close friend Dr. Snehal Shinde.

Dr Payal Tadvi. Photo: Facebook

The committee report had concluded:

“It is observed that Dr. Payal Tadvi was subjected to mental harassment by ill-treatment and also abused by three senior postgraduate students namely Dr. Hema Ahuja, Dr. Bhakti Meher, and Dr. Ankita Khandelwal. She was threatened that she will not be allotted clinical work for the next period (semester)…After reading the conversation on the WhatsApp group (The accused had formed a group with their juniors, including Tadvi, on it), we have come to know about the type of harassment against Dr. Payal Tadvi.”

The state government’s Medical Education and Drugs Department, while opposing the application, had said that the accused persons were free to pursue their further education on completion of the trial. The court, however, termed the department’s stand as “not correct” and observed, “Even a convict is allowed to have academic pursuits while undergoing sentence and develop his potential as a human being to the fullest. The State apparatus must facilitate such pursuits rather than hamper any attempts in that behalf. The Appellants, therefore, by any standard, are entitled to continue their courses of study subject to the caveat expressed earlier.”

Payal’s mother Abeda, who is also a complainant in the case, has maintained that the accused are influential and can possibly threaten or coerce the witnesses in the case. Senior advocate Indira Jaising who represented Abeda in the apex court had claimed that if the accused returns to the college it would have an adverse impact on the yet-to-be-commenced trial.

Also read: Payal Tadvi Case: Chargesheet Reveals Months of Humiliation, Discrimination

Prime witnesses in the case and also other alleged victims of caste-based torture are still pursuing their education in the same college. But the court is of a view that, “It will be difficult to imagine that three lady doctors who do not otherwise belong to Mumbai will be able to influence any such witnesses by their mere presence in the College and the Hospital.”

The accused persons’ lawyer, Siddharth Luthra, had argued before the Supreme Court that they were willing to study at other Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) colleges in case returning to the same college was not possible. They cited the COVID-19 pandemic and claimed that they would want to “serve the nation” at the time of medical crisis.

Disheartened after today’s order, Abeda Tadvi told The Wire, “The trial is yet to commence. The prime witnesses in the case are still studying at the same institute. While the right of the accused has been taken into account, the court completely disregarded our concerns.”

The police, in the chargesheet, have recorded over 250 witness statements. Many among them are junior students who had also allegedly been tortured by the accused three. These witnesses have made damning revelations against them. According to most witnesses, Payal, a 26-year-old postgraduate resident doctor, was subjected to sustained humiliation and torture by her three caste Hindu seniors and finally ended her life on May 22.

Also read: At Hospital Where Payal Tadvi Died, a New Case of ‘Ragging’

Payal, who belonged to the Tadvi Bhil (of the larger Bhil ethnic group) tribal community, was perhaps the first woman from her community to have studied medicine. After completing her undergraduate degree from a medical school in Jalgaon, she had moved to Mumbai to pursue a post-graduation in gynaecology. But at the hostel, the three accused doctors had allegedly treated her with cruelty and taunted her for having secured admission under reservation.

Tadvi had left a note where she described the torture she was subjected to and also named the three accused as persons responsible for her death. In the note she said that it had become unbearable for her to carry on amid increasing torture by the three.

The Mumbai police had subsequently booked the accused doctors under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act, abetment of suicide, destruction of evidence and common intent under the Indian Penal Code. They were arrested and later released on bail.

Payal Tadvi Suicide Case: Maharashtra Govt Opposes Accused Doctors’ Petition to Pursue Education

Tadvi’s family has maintained that allowing the three accused, held guilty by the anti-ragging committee, back in the college premises would expose the witnesses in the case to their direct influence.

Mumbai: The trial in medical doctor Payal Tadvi’s alleged death by suicide case is yet to begin. But the three accused doctors have expressed in the meantime that they wish to return to college to complete their post-graduation in gynaecology.

The Maharashtra state government has strongly opposed the accused persons’ special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court and has relied on the Anti-Ragging Committee’s report that had found them guilty of torturing and harassing Tadvi.

In two separate affidavits – filed by the Mumbai police and the state’s Medical Education and Drugs department – the state government has said that their demands “don’t deserve to be considered” and there is a “grave sense of hostility” against the accused persons in the college they had once studied.

The three accused – Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal – had moved the Supreme Court in March, soon after the Bombay high court refused to give them relief. The trio, Tadvi’s senior in the BYL Nair Hospital in south Mumbai, had moved the court claiming that they are doctors and hence “corona-warriors” and should be allowed to pursue their education along with “serving the nation”.

The accused had sought a transfer to another college in case studying in the same college was not possible. The case was scheduled for hearing today, September 8, but has been adjourned till September 14.

Also read: Payal Tadvi Case: Chargesheet Reveals Months of Humiliation, Discrimination

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra representing the accused in the apex court had proposed that they be allowed to migrate to one of the three other colleges under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in case they can’t continue their education at BYL Nair Hospital. This submission was opposed both by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and Tadvi’s mother, Abeda Tadvi. While the MCI had stuck to its rule book and said students can’t be migrated from one college to another, Abeda Tadvi, represented through her (senior) advocate Indira Jaisingh had claimed that such an arrangement would have an adverse impact on the yet-to-be commenced trial.

Both Tadvi’s family and their lawyer have maintained that allowing the students back in the same premises would expose the witnesses in the case to their direct influence. The police have recorded over 250 witness statements in the case and most of these witnesses are junior students who had also been allegedly tortured by the accused person.

Payal, a 26-year-old postgraduate resident doctor, was subjected to sustained humiliation and torture by her three caste Hindu seniors and finally ended her life on May 22.

Tadvi, a doctor belonging to the Tadvi Bhil (of the larger Bhil ethnic group) tribal community, was perhaps the first woman from her community to have studied medicine. After completing her undergraduate degree from a medical school in Jalgaon, she had moved to Mumbai to pursue a post-graduation in gynaecology. But at the hostel, the three accused doctors had allegedly treated her badly and taunted her for having secured admission under reservation.

In an affidavit filed by Avinash Shingate, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Detection), Central, CID, Mumbai, it is stated that the police are bound by the Bombay high court’s order to complete the trial in ten months from the date of framing of charges. Shingate has also stated that although the police have collected over 250 witnesses, the prosecution would be focusing on approximately 60 important witnesses in the case.

The state’s Medical Education and Drugs department has also opposed the accused persons’ application citing similar reasons and has laid further stress on the ragging committee’s report that was submitted on May 25, just three days after Tadvi’s death.

Also read: Why Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula’s Mothers Have Taken Their Fight to the SC

“The anti-ragging committee of BYL Nair charitable hospital, Mumbai dated 25.05.2019 clearly points out that the petitioners have committed ragging on deceased Dr. Payal Tadvi. The said committee has recommended the suspension of petitioners from the college/ hospital until further orders. I say that, as the petitioners are already suspended from the BYL Nair charitable hospital, they cannot be accommodated to any other college/hospital under the subsistence of said suspension order.” Surendra Chankar, the deputy secretary of the Medical Education and Drugs Department, has stated in his affidavit filed on September 7.

“It is observed that Dr. Payal Tadvi was subjected to mental harassment by ill-treatment and also abused by three senior postgraduate students namely Dr. Hema Ahuja, Dr. Bhakti Meher, and Dr. Ankita Khandelwal. She was threatened that she will not be allotted clinical work for the next period (semester)… After reading the conversation on the WhatsApp group (The accused had formed a group with their juniors, including Tadvi, on it), we have come to know about the type of harassment against Dr. Payal Tadvi,” the committee report states.

The committee had also held Dr Yi Ching Ling, the head of the gynaecology and obstetrics department at the hospital, for not taking action against the accused despite being told by Tadvi’s husband Dr Salman Tadvi and mother Abeda Tadvi about the problem several times. Another faculty head Dr S.D. Shirodkar was also held responsible for not doing enough to help Tadvi.

The anti-ragging committee had relied on statements by 21 doctors and hospital staff of the BYL Nair hospital. Tadvi’s close friend and also a crucial witness in the case, Dr Snehal Shinde, had also deposed before the committee.

Shinde, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste community, too, had been allegedly tortured and discriminated by the accused persons. Both Tadvi and Shinde had endured the treatment until Tadvi finally decided to kill herself. Shinde is presently continuing with her studies in the same college.

Also read: Ambedkar to Payal Tadvi: Codes of Discrimination Change But Dalits’ Nightmares Continue

Advocate Disha Wadekar, representing the family in the case has pointed to existing case laws and rules that don’t allow abrupt migration of students, especially when have been found guilty of ragging a junior student. “The MCI’s Anti Ragging Regulations, 2009 have clear provisions regarding suspensions from attending classes and other academic privileges. The anti-ragging committee of the college had followed the due process and suspended them after finding them guilty of harassing (Payal) Tadvi, who was their junior and was directly reporting to them,” Wadekar told The Wire.

The government has also stressed on the fact that the accused persons already hold MBBS degrees and there is no restriction on them to practice medicine. “They can continue with their Post Graduate course at any time in the future after the conclusion of the trial. There is no pressing urgency to allow petitioners to permit migration/accommodation in any other college/hospital. HC has already expediated their trial and the trial court has been directed to complete it in 10 months from the date of framing of charges,” the government affidavit has stated.

The Maharashtra government had earlier remained a passive spectator in the special leave petition filed by the accused in the Supreme Court. However, following agitation from several anti-caste organisations, including Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, the state government has now ostensibly been compelled to act in the case.

At Hospital Where Payal Tadvi Died, a New Case of ‘Ragging’

A ‘Mumbai Mirror’ report notes that the hospital delayed in referring the case to the anti-ragging committee.

With Payal Tadvi’s suicide still fresh in collective memory, Mumbai Mirror has reported that a fresh case rife with charges of ragging and counter-ragging has risen out of the same hospital.

The report notes that while authorities at Mumbai’s BYL Nair Hospital are yet to determine ‘who is wrong’, there has been sufficient delay in the steps they should have taken when news first arrived of the alleged ragging.

A senior doctor, Reshma Bangar, reportedly locked herself up in her room on September 12 after having been accused of ragging by first-year post-graduate student doctor, Sadiya Shaikh Tadvi.

Also read: Why Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula’s Mothers Have Taken Their Fight to the SC

Reshma’s actions, reported the paper, sparked panic in the hospital, but she could eventually be convinced to come out. The head of the ENT department, to which both doctors belong, however, only referred to the hospital’s anti-ragging committee on September 17, a full five days later.

When Payal Tadvi’s mother Abeda had gone to collect her belongings from her quarters, late in September, The Wire‘s Sukanya Shantha had accompanied them and noted in her article the new presence of big posters across each floor, announcing that ragging is a punishable offence.

A senior doctor also told her that an anti-ragging committee met every month in the aftermath of Payal’s death. But Payal’s husband Salman had maintained that these changes were too little too late.

An aerial view of the BYL Nair Hospital. Photo: tnmcnair.com

In the latest case, Reshma reportedly complained to the anti-ragging committee that Sadiya had been “rude with her”.

Sadiya, on the other hand, has alleged that Reshma overburdened her and often harassed her.

It was when Sadiya told Reshma that she would be lodging a complaint with seniors about her “behaviour” that the latter locked herself up, reported Mirror.

The report also quoted hospital dean Ramesh Bharmal as noting that there have been an abundance of juniors-versus-seniors complaints in the aftermath of Payal’s death. Payal had named three of her seniors in her suicide note. All three were held but are out on bail now.

While Bharmal confirmed to the paper that it was indeed a fresh ragging case the hospital was looking into, he also said “it could even be a petty fight.”

At Hospital Where Payal Tadvi Died, a New Case of ‘Ragging’

A ‘Mumbai Mirror’ report notes that the hospital delayed in referring the case to the anti-ragging committee.

With Payal Tadvi’s suicide still fresh in collective memory, Mumbai Mirror has reported that a fresh case rife with charges of ragging and counter-ragging has risen out of the same hospital.

A senior doctor, Reshma Bangar, reportedly locked herself up in her room on September 12 after having been accused of ragging by first-year post-graduate student doctor, Sadiya Shaikh Tadvi.

Anti-ragging posters in the hostels of BYL Nair hospital. Image credit: The Wire

In the latest case, Reshma reportedly complained to the anti-ragging committee that Sadiya had been “rude with her”. Sadiya, on the other hand, has alleged that Reshma overburdened her and often harassed her. It was when Sadiya told Reshma that she would be lodging a complaint with seniors about her “behaviour” that the latter locked herself up, reported Mirror.

he report also quoted hospital dean Ramesh Bharmal as noting that there have been an abundance of juniors-versus-seniors complaints in the aftermath of Payal’s death. Payal had named three of her seniors in her suicide note. All three were held but are out on bail now.

While Bharmal confirmed to the paper that it was indeed a fresh ragging case the hospital was looking into, he also said “it could even be a petty fight.”

Featured image credit: Unsplash

Four Months After Payal Tadvi’s Death, Family Claims Her Belongings From Hospital

“I was so proud that my child was studying to become a specialised doctor at such a big institute. And today, instead of her, I am returning with her clothes and books.”

Mumbai: A thick layer of dust has gathered on the furniture and unattended clothes in hostel room number 807.

The Mumbai police had sealed this 20×20 feet room on the seventh floor of the BYL Nair Hospital in south Mumbai on May 22, soon after Payal Tadvi, a second-year MD student, hung herself from one of the room’s two ceiling fans. The fan looks slightly tilted to one side; the bed she had last stood on is pulled slightly ahead. Her clothes, stethoscope and medical books are strewn around the room.

Payal, a 26-year-old postgraduate resident doctor, was subjected to a sustained humiliation and torture by her three caste Hindu seniors and finally, on May 22, she ended her life.

Four months after her death, on September 24, her mother Abeda Tadvi travelled over 400 km to claim her belongings, which were lying untouched in the hospital’s seventh-floor hostel room. As soon as Abeda entered the room, she collapsed. She went straight to her daughter’s single bed and wept inconsolably. “Why did I not take you along that day? Why did I leave you here to die?” she asked.

Then she frantically looked for her child’s stethoscope and white doctor’s apron, and clutched on to them tightly. “I am very proud of you, my child. I won’t let your death go in vain,” she kept repeating, as her husband Salim tried to console her.

Also read: It’s Time to Defang ‘Meritocracy’, an Argument That Claims Lives

Payal, a doctor belonging to the Bhil (of the Tadvi sub-caste) tribal community, was perhaps the first woman from her community to have studied medicine. After completing her undergraduate degree from a medical school in Jalgaon, she had moved to Mumbai to pursue a post-graduation in gynaecology. But at the hostel, she was allegedly treated badly and taunted for having secured admission under reservation.

Three seniors – Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal – had allegedly subjected her to acute mental torture and used casteist language to address her. “They would come and wipe their feet on this bed,” says Abeda, pointing at the bed. Salman, Payal’s husband who is also a doctor, stood there crying feebly.

Abeda, a cancer patient, says the only other time she had entered this hostel room was when Payal had told her about the torture she was facing on campus. “I had come here on May 13, just a week before Payal killed herself. I had submitted a handwritten letter to the dean (Dr Ramesh Namdeo Bharmal) about Payal’s ordeal,” Abeda recalls.

On the day of the visit, Abeda had high fever and was feeling weak. But she had dreamt of her daughter a few days before. “She kept asking me when I would come to see her. I couldn’t stop myself. I just wanted to come and gather her memories from this room.”

Payal, like any other women her age, was full of life, her mother recalls. “Just look at her clothes, her make up. She loved to dress up. She loved herself,” Abeda says, collecting her belongings. There are unopened packets of clothes and cosmetics purchased online. Payal’s parents and Salman came to the hostel after completing legal formalities to take back her belongings. A few other Mumbai-based relatives had also accompanied them, to help with the process.

As a part of the legal procedure, a person’s belongings from a crime scene are handed over only after the police completes investigations. In Payal’s case, the police have already filed an exhaustive chargesheet against Ahuja, Mehare and Khandelwal, who have been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Atrocities (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Act for discrimination, mental torture, ragging and abetting Payal’s death by suicide.

All three accused have spent over two months in jail and have now been released on bail. Their medical licences have been suspended till the conclusion of the trial.

Despite her failing health, Abeda is resolved to fight for justice. She and Radhika Vemula have moved the Supreme Court seeking its intervention to ensure no other young Adivasis and Dalits entering university spaces face what their children had to. The Tadvis have been actively pursuing the criminal case in Mumbai and have been travelling to the city for each court hearing. Abeda says, “We don’t want to leave any stone unturned here. My child has died. No other child should ever have to go through what Payal was made to suffer.”

Also read: Why Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula’s Mothers Have Taken Their Fight to the SC

Since Payal’s death, a lot has changed in Nair hospital. When Abeda and her family reached the hospital on September 24, Bharmal was convening a meeting of the anti-ragging committee, as stipulated under the law. Across each floor, big posters have been put up. “Ragging is a punishable offence,” reads a poster right outside Payal’s hostel room. The anti-ragging committee now meets every month and has been looking into the issue more seriously, a senior doctor says.

“These are all new additions. A few months too late,” says Salman. He says he has been coming to the hospital for several years, and more often since Payal joined the PG course here, but has not seen any signs of serious engagement with the topics of ragging and harassment. “I am glad to see that anti-ragging posters have come up and also to know that the college is now forced to act on cases of harassment. But Payal had to die for them (college management) to wake up,” he adds.

Anti-ragging posters in the hostels. Photo: The Wire

The seventh floor of the building is where at least 100 female PG medical students live. Around Payal’s room, business continues as usual. A janitor assigned to the floor says that while students have been trying to return to their routine, they skip past Payal’s room. “Her room and the neighbouring two rooms have been locked ever since. Students avoid this space,” she adds.

Payal had two roommates and one of them, Dr Snehal Shinde, was a close friend. Shinde is one of the prime witnesses in the case. Along with Payal, Shinde too had been allegedly tortured and abused for being a “quota student”. Abeda said she has not been able to speak to her since the incident. “She must have been under tremendous stress. I have her mobile number, which the police have seized for investigations. I hope to meet her someday.”

Since the police sealed the hostel room, Shinde too has not been able to access her belongings. As the Tadvis waited for the police to arrange for their entry into the room, the police called Shinde on her phone and asked if she would want to come and claim her belongings, too. Shinde said she would. However, she did not turn up till the time the Tadvis left campus. “I can’t even imagine how she must be coping with all this. They were so close and had suffered similar humiliation. My heart aches thinking about all this,” Abeda told The Wire.

At 5 pm, when the family had boxed all her belongings and shifted them to the hospital’s gate, Abeda stood there and said, “I was so proud that my child was studying to become a specialised doctor at such a big institute. And today, instead of her, I am returning with her clothes and books.” Payal’s husband Salman added, “This is the last time I am stepping into this hospital. I have lost my life here, there is nothing more left to lose.”

All Three Accused in Payal Tadvi Suicide Case Granted Bail ‘On Strict Conditions’

The accused will have to submit a bond of Rs 2 lakh and appear before the crime branch every alternate day.

New Delhi: The Bombay high court on Friday granted bail “on strict conditions” to three women doctors accused of abetting the suicide of Payal Tadvi, Bar&Bench reported. The three – Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehere and Ankita Khandelwal – have also been accused of ragging and caste discrimination.

This after the court on Tuesday pulled up the Maharashtra government over the delay in recording statements of key witnesses. According to reports, the court also questioned the state for their inaction against authorities who were aware of the ragging incidents Tadvi had been facing.

Twenty-six-year-old Tadvi, a second-year postgraduate medical student, died by suicide on May 22 – allegedly due to ragging and caste-based harassment.

Also read | Payal Tadvi Case: Chargesheet Reveals Months of Humiliation, Discrimination

A government-appointment panel had in June said in its report that while the doctor was ragged by three seniors, no conclusive evidence was found of caste-based harassment. The government’s report was issued despite the fact that internal investigation at the TN Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai, where Tadvi worked, found that she had been a victim of “extreme harassment”, including casteist remarks.

Her family had claimed that the doctors targeting Tadvi – who was from the Adivasi community – made comments like “these caste people don’t know anything” and that “she got admission through caste quota”.

According to an India Today report, the three will have to submit a bond of Rs 2 lakh and appear before the crime branch every alternate day. Additionally, they will also not be allowed to go inside Nair Hospital.

The three accused had moved the high court after a special court rejected their bail pleas on June 24.

Payal Tadvi Suicide: Bombay HC Pulls Up Investigators for Gaps in Probe

During the bail proceedings for the three accused women, the court directed the crime branch to take action against Dr Yi Ching Ling for “shirking responsibility”.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court, hearing the bail pleas of three women doctors accused of abetting the suicide of their junior colleague Payal Tadvi on Tuesday, pulled up the prosecution for “lacunae” in the investigation.

Justice Sadhana Jadhav, who was presiding over the matter, directed the crime branch to initiate proceedings seeking permission to take action against Dr Yi Ching Ling, who heads obstetrics and gynaecology department at the BYL Nair Hospital for “shirking responsibility”.

Tadvi, 26, a second-year postgraduate medical student attached to BYL Nair Hospital, killed herself in her hostel room on May 22 allegedly due to ragging and casteist abuses hurled at her by the three doctors.

Tadvi belonged to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.

Her mother had claimed that Tadvi had complained to Dr Ling about the mental harassment faced by her daughter from Hema Ahuja, Ankita Khandelwal and Bhakti Mehere, who were her seniors at the department.

The accused trio had moved the high court after a special court rejected their bail pleas on June 24.

While hearing their bail pleas on Tuesday, the high court also observed that medical profession was “no more a noble one”.

Justice Jadhav also suggested the medical licences of the accused doctors be “terminated” at least till the conclusion of the trial.

The observations came while the prosecution was reading out details from the chargesheet filed in the case.

Also read: Payal Tadvi Case: Chargesheet Reveals Months of Humiliation, Discrimination

Justice Jadhav said the material in the chargesheet suggested several “lacunae” in the investigation.

“Despite the fact that several colleagues of Dr Tadvi who were made witnesses in the case were in a vulnerable position now as they continued to be at the hospital, the Crime Branch had failed to record their statements before a magistrate under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC),” Justice Jadhav said.

The statements recorded under the section 164 are admissible as evidence during trial.

Justice Jadhav granted three days to the crime branch to record the statements of “relevant witnesses” including that of Dr Tadvi’s friend Dr Snehal Shinde, who, according to Tadvi’s suicide note, was also facing similar harassment at the hands of the accused doctors.

Justice Jadhav also directed the investigators to initiate proceedings to seek necessary permissions to take action against Dr Ling.

“Dr Ling had clearly shirked responsibility by refusing to take cognisance of a complaint of harassment made by Tadvi’s mother, and therefore, she must be added to the list of the accused persons in the case,” noted Justice Jadhav.

The judge also directed the prosecutor, senior counsel Raja Thakre, to inform the court about the crime branch’s plan of action regarding Dr Ling by August 9, the next date of hearing.

“Does not the investigating agency have power to prosecute her [Dr Ling]? She shirked responsibility, refused to take any action. Look at the number of authorities that the mother (Tadvi’s) went to raise a complaint,” said Justice Jadhav.

The court also dismissed defence lawyer Abad Ponda’s argument that the accused doctors deserved to be granted bail since they were not accused in a case of murder or homicide.

Ponda said the accused were “deeply sorry” and that they had never intended Dr Tadvi to end her life.

Justice Jadhav, however, said this comparison with homicide or murder did not fit the case since the accused had inflicted continuous “mental injury” on the deceased.

“Often it is said that physical injury is better than mental injury for the latter goes unseen and is left untreated. However, in the present case there are no assumptions. The deceased and her family raised several complaints before the suicide, the mental injury was seen and it could have been curtailed, yet, no one too serious note of it. You can’t say thus, that this is not a case of murder or homicide for mental injury was inflicted upon her,” Justice Jadhav observed.

When Ponda pointed out that the accused had already spent 70 days in custody and that their licences had been suspended, Justice Jadhav replied that their “licences should be terminated at least till the trial”.

Also read: The Culture of Professional Colleges Failed Dr Payal Tadvi – Just as It Did Me

“Everyone merely said this is common in medical colleges. What kind of attitude is this where doctors are like that? This profession is no more noble,” Justice Jadhav said.

She was apparently referring to ragging.

The prosecution also made a request that the media be prohibited from reporting on the bail proceedings.

To this, Justice Jadhav said she will pass an order later.

She, however, added that the prosecution must bear in mind that another bench of the HC had revoked a media gag order on the “sensitive” Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case.

Photos of Missing Suicide Note Recovered From Payal Tadvi’s Phone

Police believe that the three accused seniors may have destroyed the original note and other evidence.

New Delhi: Photos of the suicide note left behind by Dr Payal Tadvi, who killed herself allegedly due to caste discrimination she faced at her Mumbai hospital, have been recovered from her mobile phone. The absence of a suicide note has been a hindrance in the police’s case that the second year post-graduation student had killed herself on May 22 because of harassment that she faced from three seniors, Hema Ahuja, Ankita Khandelwal and Bhakti Mehere.

The photos were deleted from her phone, but were retrieved by a forensic lab. Police believe that the original note, along with the photos, were destroyed by the accused. Two of the accused spent three minutes in Tadvi’s room, soon after she is believed to have killed herself. The police had earlier presented CCTV footage in court, showing them enter the room. The police claimed they were trying to destroy the suicide note and other evidence.

According to the Mumbai Mirror, the note names the three accused, and documents the harassment and casteist abuse that she faced from them over the past year to intimidate and isolate her at work.

The three seniors, who were arrested on May 28, have claimed Tadvi killed herself because she could not shoulder the “work pressure” of the government-run BYL Nair Hospital.

Also Read: Payal Tadvi’s Case Follows Predictable Pattern of Victim Blaming

Forensic experts told the Mumbai Mirror that Tadvi is believed to have taken photos of the note to send it to her mother. However, she did not end up doing so. While Tadvi, who belongs to a Bhil Adivasi Muslim community, had spoken to her mother on the phone shortly before she took her own life, the last call on her phone – 121 second before her death – was from Ahuja.

Ahuja has claimed that she had call to check about certain medicines that Tadvi had given to a patient.

After the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory informed the Crime Branch about the recovery of the suicide note on Monday, the police share the information with the Bombay high court on Thursday. The Crime Branch was asked by the court to verify the note with the help of handwriting experts.

Bail hearing at Bombay HC

Meanwhile, the high court also heard the bail applications filed by the three accused, adjourning the matter to July 16. Justice Sadhana Jadhav was informed by the prosecution that the investigation into the case will be completed within two weeks.

According to LiveLaw, the court also observed that the police should have informed the Medical Council of India and the Medical Council of Maharashtra about the arrest of Khandelwal, Ahuja and Mehere.

The accused have been charged under various sections including abetment of suicide, anti-ragging laws and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Justice Jadhav has also issued a notice to Tadvi’s mother, the complainant in the case.

College Confirms Payal Tadvi Was Subjected to ‘Extreme Harassment’

The anti-ragging committee found evidence of caste discrimination by three seniors, while Tadvi’s family claims the harassment worsened after a verbal complaint was filed.

New Delhi: The anti-ragging committee of the TN Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai has found that Dr Payal Tadvi faced “extreme harassment” from three senior colleagues for several days before she took her life on May 22.

On the morning of May 22, she was admonished by the accused senior colleagues in the presence of other staff and patients. The second-year PG student was seen crying as she left. During the nine days between her husband filing a complaint with the gynaecology unit head of the college and her death, she faced “extreme harassment”, casteist remarks and was unfairly admonished several times. The seniors had come to know of the complaint, the report says.

The incident raises questions over the ability of the college to tackle ragging and discrimination, as the family claims that Payal Tadvi’s harassment worsened after a verbal complaint was filed with the unit head.

The report relies on statements of 30 people, including Payal’s family, colleagues and staff. It has corroborated the claim that the three seniors, Hema Ahuja, Ankita Khandelwal and Bhakti Mehare, harassed 26-year-old Tadvi, who belonged to a Tadvi Muslim Bhil Scheduled Tribe community. The three seniors were arrested as of Wednesday morning. They have been booked under relevant 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 IPC.

Also Read: Even After Payal Tadvi’s Death, Doctors’ Body Unconvinced of Caste Discrimination

Tadvi’s husband Salman Tadvi filed a verbal complaint with the gynaecology unit head Y.I. Ching Ling on May 13. For the next two days, the three accused seniors did not speak with Payal Tadvi. On the third day, the family told Indian Express, one of them threw a file at her and called her work “shoddy”. On the fourth day, the seniors threatened Tadvi, saying they will ensure that she does not graduate to the third year, the family claims.

Her brother Ritesh Tadvi told the newspaper, “Payal told us that the torture got worse after the complaint. We realised that the three seniors had the unit head’s support.

In the last four days before she took her life, Payal was criticised at work every day. This was corroborated by two other colleagues, Snehal and Anurupa, to the anti-ragging committee.

Salman said that the three accused seniors ensured that his wife would perform only minor work. “First-year students who joined on May 1 were asked to assist in deliveries but Payal, despite being in the second year, was not allowed to work,” he told Indian Express.

He said that he did not mention the issue of caste discrimination in his verbal complaint as he was worried about the career of the seniors. Salman works as an associate professor with Dr R N Cooper Hospital.

“She cried every day. She said the complaint to the unit head yielded no response from the hospital. Instead, the torture increased every day,” said Abeda, Payal’s mother.

Casteist remarks directed at her included statements such as “these caste people don’t know anything” and that “she got admission through caste quota”, the family says.

Salman told the anti-ragging committee that Payal assisted in two deliveries on the day she took her life. She was apparently “scolded” the three seniors over her handling of procedures. She was crying as she left, and called her mother at around 4 pm. “I told her I’ll come from Jalgaon and bring her back with me. I could understand that she was being tortured. She was crying so much,” said Abeda. Payal is believed to have taken her life between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm.

Payal told her husband Salmanthat the harassment began in December 2018, six months after she started her post-graduation at the BYL Nair Hospital. He told the Indian Express, “I kept telling her to ignore them and study. I was wrong. Why should we hear taunts over our caste? This is the worst kind of caste discrimination.”

Seniors remanded to police custody

A special court remanded the senior doctors – Bhakti Mehere, Hema Ahuja and Ankita Khandelwal – to police custody till May 31.

Additional sessions judge R.M. Sadrani remanded the three accused after accepting the prosecution’s arguments, seeking their custody for interrogation to ascertain if they misplaced or destroyed Tadvi’s purported suicide note.