E-Paper
Payal Tadvi suicide: HoD to tell if 3 accused docs can complete Masters
MUMBAI The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday summoned the head of department (HoD) of gynaecology and obstetrics at BYL Nair Hospital and Topiwala National Medical
MUMBAI The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday summoned the head of department (HoD) of gynaecology and obstetrics at BYL Nair Hospital and Topiwala National Medical College, to ascertain if the three accused in the case of Dr. Payal Tadvi’s suicide may be allowed to complete their Masters courses. Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehar and Ankita Khandelwal have been accused of abetting Dr. Tadvi’s suicide and last year, the court had suspended their medical licenses till the end of the trial.
During the course of hearing on Thursday, justice Sadhana Jadhav indicated she was inclined to allow the three accused complete their postgraduate medical courses. “It is true that the victim has lost her life, but we cannot stop their [the three accused’s] education. The trial court will decide their fate. They cannot be victimised because in our society we do not go by an eye for an eye.” Jadhav has asked the HoD to be present in court today.
The court was hearing a plea filed by the accused that sought a modification of the order passed on August 9, 2019 according to which the trio was granted bail but restricted from entering Nair Hospital and Topiwala National Medical College.
Special public prosecutor Raja Thakare objected to the plea, saying the several witnesses in the case were working at Nair Hospital and most would be subordinates of the accused. In response, senior advocate Abad Ponda, who represented the accused, said the three could be shifted to a different unit of gynaecology and obstetrics at Nair Hospital so that they do not come in contact with witnesses.
The court has summoned the HoD of gynaeocology and obstetrics Dr. Ganesh Shinde to ascertain if such an arrangement is possible.
Dr. Tadvi, a 23-year-old, second-year postgraduate student of Topiwala National Medical College committed suicide on May 22, 2019. The three accused were her seniors and have been charged with abetting her suicide by subjecting her to caste-based harassment, and destroying evidence. No suicide note was found initially, but during a forensic analysis of Dr. Tadvi’s phone, the police investigation was able to retrieve photographs of a note that contained detailed allegations against the three accused.
In her note, Dr. Tadvi said the three accused had harassed her about being Adivasi and for having secured admission through a quota earmarked for students from scheduled castes and tribes. She belonged to the Tadvi Bhil Muslim community, a scheduled tribe, and was the first woman from the community to pursue postgraduate studies.
