Suicide of tribal doctor sparks furore

The suicide of a tribal doctor-student Dr. Payal Tadvi, who allegedly faced casteist slurs from seniors, has sparked a major outcry and an online campaign demanding justice for her.

The 26-year-old resident doctor at the government-run BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central was found hanging on the premises on May 22.

A social media campaign, #JusticeForPayal, has gained momentum and the issue has reached the doors of the Maharashtra government.

Payal, who hails from a tribal-Muslim family in Jalgaon, had joined the PG course in gynaecology at the Topiwala National Medical College (TNMC), which is attached to the BYL Nair Hospital, in May last year.

In December 2018, she informed her family about harassment from her seniors. Her husband Dr. Salman Tadvi had also complained to the department.

The three seniors - Dr. Hema Ahuja, Dr. Bhakti Mehar and Dr. Ankita Khandelwal - have not been arrested so far. They have, however, been suspended by the hospital administration.

The Mumbai police has filed a First Information Report under the sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

"She was facing regular harassment of all types from her seniors," said her mother Abeda Tadvi. "She told me several times that she was facing casteist slurs and harassment."

“On May 10, my daughter called me. She was crying and told me about the harassment she had been facing. I was rattled and wrote a complaint the same night. On May 13, I went to the dean to hand over the letter but we were not allowed to go in,” the mother said. “Instead, we were asked to meet Dr. Yi Ching Ling (professor in the gynaecology department). Dr Ling kept speaking loudly in English, which I couldn’t understand.”

Head of the department Dr. Ling and Unit Head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department Dr SD Shirodkar have been issued show cause notices by Ramesh Bharmal, the dean of TNMC.

The three doctors in the line of fire, however, have sent an explanation to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD).

"We want the college to conduct a fair investigation to give justice. This is not the way to do investigation through police force and media pressure without listening to our side," they said in a joint letter to MARD. "We have been blamed for caste discrimination. Do you really think such allegations are true? Do we ever consider caste before treating patients? Do we make friends, listen to our seniors-juniors and colleagues on basis of caste? Are we really allotted work on the basis of our caste," they said.

The letter sent by the three doctors to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD)

While one protest meeting was held on Monday, another one is planned for Tuesday.