‘Won’t let you perform deliveries’: Tragic tale of tribal doctor Dr Payal Tadvi in Mumbai who committed suicide

Her mother said that she spoke to her daughter at 4 PM on the day of her suicide and claimed that lecturers had ignored her ordeal.

Payal, who is from Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, joined the PG course at Topiwala National Maedical College on May 1, 2018. Even in December 2018, she had informed her family about the harassment.

Her husband Dr Salman had also complained to the department. He said that Payal’s unit was changed after the complaint but then she moved back to her old unit where the harassment started again.

Payal, who hails from Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, joined the PG course in gynecology at the Topiwala National Medical College, which is attached to the BYL Nair hospital on May 1, 2018. In December 2018, she informed her family about the harassment by her seniors.

Taking serious note of the recent suicide of 23-year-old doctor Dr Payal Tadvi, the state government has decided to form a committee at the state level to look into the anti-ragging mechanism in the medical college. The committee will help form fresh anti-ragging guidelines.

Dr Tatyarao Lahane, director of Directorate Medical Education and Research (DMER), said, "The state government has ordered to form a committee to frame new rules and punishment related to ragging in medical colleges in the state. It is not an inquiry committee. A three-member committee, which comprises of the head of Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Dr Dileep Mhaiskar, Vice-Chancellor of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), and dean of the local government hospitals, has been set-up to look into ragging mechanism in college."

Dr Kalyani Dongre, Central President of MARD, said, "We have decided to suspend all the three accused doctors from Maharashtra Association of Resident doctor until further notice. We have also demanded suspension of Head of Unit, Dr Yi Ching Ling for not taking action when Tadvi approached him with a complaint against the trio alleging harassment."

The anti-ragging committee of BYL Nair Hospital held a meeting on Thursday to investigate the matter. Another follow-up meeting will be held on Saturday."Police officials in our anti-ragging committee have taken the matter under their jurisdiction. It was an internal issue, and we did not come to know about it from any of our resources. Had we known, we would have followed due procedure and Tadvi would not have taken this drastic step," said Dr RN Bharmal, dean of Nair Hospital.

As per UGC anti-ragging helpline, Maha ranks 5th

• 53 Number of cases reported in the state has doubled in 2018 from 27 in 2013
• 308 Number of ragging cases reported across the state in the last 10 years

The Trigger

• Dr Payal Tadvi, a second-year resident doctor at the hospital’s gynaecology department, was found dead in her hostel room on Wednesday
• Her mother had filed a complaint with the Agripada police on Thursday against three third-year resident doctors — Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehare and Dr Ankita Khandelwal — for alleged harassment 
• The deceased was harassed by the three doctors as she belonged to a lower caste, alleged her family members
• The police booked them for abetment to suicide under the IPC and other sections under the Ragging Act and the Atrocities Act. The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors has suspended all the three accused