Naming the three accused – Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehare and Dr Ankita Khandelwal – Tadvi had said in the note that they are "responsible" for her condition and that of her classmate Snehal. Two of the three accused doctors booked for alleged abetment to suicide of Dr Payal Tadvi in 2019 filed discharge applications before a special court on Thursday. The pleas were filed by Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal.
Tadvi, who died by suicide in her hostel room at T N Topiwala National Medical College on May 22, 2019, wrote in her suicide note that it had become “unbearable” for her to carry on with the alleged “torture” meted out to her by her seniors. Naming the three accused – Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehare and Dr Ankita Khandelwal – Tadvi had said in the note that they are “responsible” for her condition and that of her classmate Snehal.
The police had filed a complaint on charges of abetment to suicide under IPC, sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act – Tadvi belonged to a Scheduled Tribe community – and the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act.
In her plea, Khandelwal said that Tadvi was under stress and unable to cope with the workload, which caused her to die by suicide. The plea, filed through lawyer Vaibhav Jagtap, added that Khandelwal was not aware of Tadvi’s caste.
“That there is no averment in the complaint nor the material collected during the course of investigation disclose that the applicant took active part in the said crime or humiliated the deceased. On the other hand, there is ample evidence to disclose that the deceased Payal was under stress and unable to cope up with the pressure of her work, which ultimately led her to commit suicide,” the plea said.
In her plea filed through lawyer Sarthak Shetty, Mehare said there is no evidence to frame charges against her.
The court has asked Special Public Prosecutor Pradip Gharat to file a reply by April 18.
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