On May 22, Dr. Payal Tadvi, a 26-year-old resident doctor at the BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai which is a government-owned hospital, was found hanging on inside her room, preliminary investigations believe that she committed suicide as she was being harassed by her senior doctors for her caste.

Abeda Tadvi, the mother of Dr. Payal Tadvi, released a statement, and she said,  “I spoke to her around 4 pm that day and she told me that she was being mentally tortured. She had complained to me earlier as well and I had requested the lecturers to address the issue but they ignored it. I also tried to meet the dean, but I was not allowed. I want justice for my daughter. The medical registration of the girls who harassed my daughter should be suspended.”

Dr. Payal Tadvi is originally from Maharashtra, she joined the PG course in gynecology at the Topiwala National Medical College, the medical college is affiliated with the BYL Nair Hospital.

As a matter of fact, Dr. Payal Tadvi even told her parents about the harassment last year.

Dr. Salman, the husband of Dr. Payal Tadvi, has complained to the department head about the said harassment.

The husband of Dr. Payal Tadvi said, “She first complained about the harassment in December. I met the head of the department Dr. Shirodkar. After this, Payal’s unit was changed for two months, but when she returned to the same unit after two months, the harassment continued.”

Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehar, and Ankita Khandelwal are the three seniors who harassed and were involved in ragging Dr. Payal Tadvi because of her cast.

The police have made no arrests so far.

An FIR has been lodged at the Agripada Police Station.

A police officer at the Agripada Police Station said, Based on the complaint given by the victim’s mother, an FIR has been registered at the Agripada police station. “We are investigating the case. We have recovered a few documents. We have registered an FIR against three of her seniors, under sections of atrocity Act, IT Act and anti-ragging Act along with IPC 306.”

A second investigation is being carried out by the Anti-Ragging Committee, the committee includes doctors, police officers, and NGO members who are against ragging.

The Anti-Ragging Committee is expected to submit a report on 28 May.

Dr. Ramesh Bharmal, the dean of the Topiwala National Medical College, released a statement about the incident, he said, “A show-cause notice has been served to head of gynecology department Dr. SD Shirodkar and Payal’s unit head Dr. Yi Ching Ling. They have been asked why they failed to take any action despite several complaints from Payal and her family.”

A number of people from the tribal community are expected to protest on May 28, they are currently demanding action against the three doctors who harassed and were involved in ragging Payal which led her to commit suicide.