No bail to accused doctors in Dr Payal Tadvi suicide

MUMBAI: A special court on Monday rejected the bail pleas of the three doctors accused of abetting the May 22 suicide of Dr Payal Tadvi. The trio—Dr Hema Ahuja (28), Dr Bhakti Mehare (26) and Dr Ankita Khandelwal (27)—have been in jail since their arrests on May 28-29. Special Judge P B Jadhav rejected their plea while observing that their release would adversely affect the investigation.
The court said while it is true that the accused are women, doctors and had no criminal antecedents, prima facie it appeared that the accused tried to destroy evidence soon after the incident, did not cooperate with the investigating agency and instead remained hidden for five to six days after the suicide. “It has to be noted that there is every possibility of tampering of witnesses and evidence. If they are released on bail, they would not be available for the trial.”

The victim’s husband, Dr Salman Tadvi, was present in court and expressed his relief at the order.
The accused broke down in court soon after the order was pronounced at 2.45pm. The women, Tadvi’s seniors at Nair Hospital, have been accused of harassing and ragging her and making casteist comments, which allegedly drove her to commit suicide inside her eighth-floor hostel room. Defence advocate Shailesh Kharat said they will appeal against the order in Bombay high court.
Last week, opposing their bail plea, special public prosecutor Raja Thakare had submitted that CCTV footage showed that after the suicide was discovered on May 22 and Tadvi’s body was carried to the lift, instead of accompanying the group, Ahuja and Khandelwal went to Tadvi’s room where they remained for around five minutes. While the prosecution said their behaviour showed their criminal mind, Gunratan Sadavarte, the lawyer for the victim’s family, alleged that they had destroyed Tadvi’s suicide note.
In the bail order, the court observed, “They have not explained what their business in that room was. Therefore, it cannot be denied that they tried to search the evidence against them in the room. It is unclear whether they found any evidence and, if yes, what had happened with that evidence. But it can be said that their behaviour was towards that direction.”
Sadavarte had earlier alleged that after their bail plea and custody hearing on June 10, the accused had threatened Tadvi’s husband, by saying, “Tu dhamki samaj.” The trio had screamed and cried after the proceedings were adjourned. While not admitting the allegations, the defence had requested the court to consider the mental trauma suffered by the accused.
Taking note of the conduct of the accused, the court said that the doctors are highly educated and were in custody for only 10 days prior to the “alleged ruckus created by them.”
“The advocate for the informant (Tadvi’s mother) submitted that if they lose their control in such situations, there is every possibility that they would go to any extent by tampering with the witnesses and evidence against them. The apprehension is reasonable,” the court said.
The court also pointed out that it remained unexplained where the accused were between May 23, when the FIR was registered, and May 28-29, when they were finally arrested. The court said that they were aware that their names were mentioned in the FIR but chose not to cooperate with the investigation.
The court said that the case diary, produced by the prosecution during the bail hearing, supported most of the allegations made in the FIR.
The trio’s judicial custody was extended till July 5.