Payal Tadvi suicide case: Police arrest all three accused female doctors

Image Courtesy: ANI

In a big development in medical student Payal Tadvi suicide case, the police on Tuesday arrested two of the three accused doctors, Bhakti Mehre and Hema Ahuja. Bhakti Mehre was arrested from sessions court in the evening, while Hema Ahuja was arrested Tuesday night. Mumbai police have also arrested the third accused in the case, Ankita Khandelwal on Wednesday morning.

Medical student Payal Tadvi suicide case: Two of the three accused doctors, Bhakti Mehre and Hema Ahuja, have been arrested. Hema Ahuja was arrested last night (in pics) while Bhakti Mehre was arrested from sessions court yesterday evening. #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/WSmL02xRTW

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2019

The administration of Mumbai's BYL Nair Hospital has suspended the head of the gynaecology department and three other women doctors in connection with the case. The three doctors have been booked under the Atrocities Act, the Anti-Ragging Act and the IT Act and Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC. 

Payal Tadvi had committed suicide on May 22 after she allegedly faced casteist slurs. Tadvi's family also accused the doctors of insulting her for belonging to a scheduled tribe.She and her family had in the past complained to the hospital authorities of the alleged ragging, taunting on her tribal status and other forms of harassment by the three senior women doctors. Tadvi's friends had appealed to the authorities to take stringent administrative and penal action against the accused. 

Meanwhile, the state women's commission on Monday asked the Dean to submit a report in the case. In a letter to the Dean of the Mumbai civic body-run BYL Nair Hospital Ramesh Bharmal, the Maharashtra State Commission for Women had asked whether the institution had implemented Anti-ragging Act effectively. The report also seeks information on "lack of communication" between the administration and students. The commission has asked the hospital to submit the report within eight days.

Payal Tadvi belonged to a Muslim tribal family of Jalgaon. She was a second-year post-graduate student in obstetrics and gynaecology and had earlier served in the tribal areas of Gadchiroli.  The 25-year-old Tadvi had joined the hospital on May 13, 2018. For his part, State cabinet minister of medical education Girish Mahajan on Tuesday said that strong action will be taken against the accused.