1 arrested in Muslim doctor's suicide case
Mumbai, May 28: One of the doctors accused of abetting the suicide of a junior female colleague by tormenting her with casteist slurs was arrested here on Tuesday, police said.
The Agripada police arrested Bhakti Mehere after initial interrogation, an officer said.
Mehere and two other doctors, Ankita Khandelwal and Hema Ahuja, were booked after the woman, Payal Tadvi committed suicide, the police said.
All three moved an anticipatory bail application before the sessions court here on Tuesday and it is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday.
The trio has been booked under relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Anti-Ragging Act, the IT Act and Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
Tadvi hanged herself last Wednesday, following which the 26-year-old's family alleged that the senior doctors tortured her by ragging and hurling casteist abuses as she belonged to a Scheduled Tribe.
Tadvi's parents protested at the state-run hospital in Mumbai where she worked. Other protesters also joined Tadvi's mother Abedam and husband Salman, demanding stringent action against the three seniors.
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, and other Dalit and tribal organisations held protests outside the B Y L Nair Hospital.
Abeda asked whether the government would take responsibility for the safety of students like her daughter, who are pursuing higher education.
"Payal used to tell me about the torture which she was facing by her seniors on petty issues. They threw files on her face in front of patients," she said.
"Payal used to tell me not to give a written complaint against her seniors despite being harassed by them. She would say that doing so would adversely impact their career," Abeda said.
She said Tadvi would have been the first woman MD (doctor of medicine) from their community.
Salman, a doctor, said it was possible that Tadav was "murdered" by the three women doctors.
Expressing solidarity with the protesters and with Tadvis family, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said he would visit Maharashtra if needed to "fight for justice for our younger sister".
The state women's commission has also taken cognisance of the matter and issued a notice to the hospital authorities.
On Tuesday, it wrote a letter to the Mumbai police commissioner, seeking a thorough investigation in the case.
The panel, which termed the case "very serious", has sought a report from the police within eight days, an official said.
It said there was a need to take stringent action against the accused under sections of abetment to suicide, the SC/ST Act and Anti-Ragging Act, the official said.
In a related development, the anti-ragging committee of Nair Hospital submitted its report in Tadvi's suicide case to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences.
"We have submitted our sealed report to the MUHS," said Ramesh Bharmal, Dean, Nair Hospital, who did not reveal any details of the report, saying it was confidential.
"We are cooperating with the police in their investigation and providing whatever help they want," Bharmal told PTI.
In the morning, Minister for Medical Education Girish Mahajan visited the hospital and also met the protesters and parents of the victim, the official said.
The Mumbai Congress demanded that all the three doctors booked in the case be tried in a fast-track court.
A delegation led by of Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora met Joint CP (Law and Order) Vinay kumar Chaube and made the demand.
In a statement, the Mumbai Congress said Tadvi's suicide was unfortunate and a serious issue.
"The Tadvi family should get justice. The three doctors should be punished severely. A message should go out in Mumbai and Maharashtra that there is no place for casteism in educational institutions," it said.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said those accused of abetting Tadvi's suicide should be booked under IPC section 302 (murder).
She demanded that Mahajan take a review of all anti- ragging committees in education institutions in the state.
Gorhe said the issue would be raised in the state legislature session starting from June 17.
The three accused had on Monday sought a "fair probe" in the case.
In a letter to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), the accused said they wanted the college to conduct a fair investigation into the matter and "give justice" to them.
"This is not the way to do an investigation through police force and media pressure, without hearing our side," the three doctors said in the letter.
The MARD has suspended the three doctors.
"We have credible inputs that the three doctors made casteist remarks against Dr Payal Tadvi, who allegedly committed suicide. We will cooperate with the police for the further investigation," a senior MARD official said.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
