Mumbai: After arresting Dr Bhakti Mehre (26) on Tuesday in the Dr Payal Tadvi suicide case, the Agripada police on Tuesday midnight arrested two other doctors — Dr Ankita Khandelwal and Dr Hema Ahuja. All the accused were produced in the Session’s Court on Wednesday, which remanded them in police custody till May 31. The police had demanded a maximum custody of 14 days.
26-year-old Dr Payal Tadvi, who hails from Jalgaon district, belonged to the Bhil Muslim community and had hanged herself on May 22 in her hostel room. Payal’s mother has alleged that the three senior resident doctors from the same hospital pressurised her daughter to take this extreme step. In her statement, she alleged that her daughter ended her life due to cast slurs hurled at her and ragging by the three senior doctors. While seeking maximum custody, the police claimed they have to ascertain if the accused had removed any suicide note from Payal’s room, where the body was found hanging from a ceiling fan.
The police also said that since the accused are senior to almost every witness in the case, they are reluctant to come forward to give statements. “Looking at the media hype and protests that have begun since her suicide, this case could create social unrest, if not investigated properly,” said the police. Pressing for maximum custody, Payal’s lawyer Nitin Satpute claimed that lesions have been found on her body and, in all likelihood, it is more than a suicide and that the police should investigate it as a murder case.
Defence lawyers rebuffed the allegations and said, “The abetment case was registered only on Payal’s mother’s insistence. In her statement she blamed the trio, but there is no proof supporting these claims. It has been eight days since Payal’s death and till now there is no mention of a suicide note.” The police said they need to retrieve the Whatsapp conversation between the three accused doctors and Payal.
The defence lawyer pointed out that since Payal’s room was locked from inside, there was no possibility of murder. Opposing police custody, the defence lawyer claimed, “There was some family dispute between Payal and her husband, who were staying separately despite living in the same city. The family dispute could also be the reason for her taking this extreme step.” Payal’s lawyer, however, refuted the allegations.