The autopsy report of Mumbai doctor Payal Tadvi who was found dead in her hostel room has revealed evidence of ligature mark on her neck under provisional cause of death. All three accused were sent for a two-day police custody for allegedly forcing Payal to kill herself . The lawyer representing Payal’s case said the circumstances of Payal’s death suggested it was a murder case. Her family also sought direction for the crime to be treated as a murder.
Nitin Satpute, Payal’s counsel said the circumstances suggested the death was a murder and not suicide. Police must investigate the case as a murder investigation for which they should be sent for 14 days Police custody. Hinting evidence tampering, he claimed that the accused had taken her body to some other place and it was later that the body was brought to hospital.
Prosecutor Jay Singh Desai said the witnesses were under pressure given the seniority of the accused. He said the witnesses were afraid to give their statement against the accused. The case could create social unrest if not investigated properly, added Desai.While Police on the other hand have tried retrieving the WhatsApp messages from the the phones of the accused.
The lawyers defending the accused rejected the charge of abetment of suicide and said they were not aware of Payal’s caste. He said it would be unfair to dub the case as murder as all medical reports were yet to come out. On abetment of suicide charge, the lawyer said it was a claim made by Tadvi’s mother and did not have any evidence support.
Rubbishing harassment claims, the defence also said the accused were not aware that the deceased got admission under any quota , hence weren’t aware of her caste as well.
The three accused in Payal Tadvi death case are Ankita Khandelwal, Bhakti Mehra and Hema Ahuja who have been arrested for allegedly abetting the post graduate student who belonged to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community to commit suicide. She was found dead in her hostel room at BYL Nair Hospital on May 22.
