Two more doctors arrested in Payal suicide case
Mumbai, May 29: Two more doctors have been arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a junior colleague by tormenting her with casteist slurs at a state-run hospital here, taking the total number of those arrested in the case to three, police said Wednesday.
While one doctor, Bhakti Mehere, was arrested on Tuesday after initial interrogation, the two other accused - Hema Ahuja and Ankita Khandelwal - were absconding.
"Ahuja and Khandelwal were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday by the Agripada police in central Mumbai," a senior police official told PTI.
They will be produced in a court on Wednesday, he added.
The three were booked after their junior colleague Payal Tadvi at B Y L Nair Hospital here committed suicide at her hostel last week, a senior police official said.
Tadvi, 26, hanged herself in her room last Wednesday following which her family alleged that the doctors taunted her by ragging and hurling casteist abuses as she belonged to a Scheduled Tribe.
Dr Tadvi's husband Salman and mother Abida Salim have demanded "strictest action" against the three doctors. Salman Tadvi alleges that the three doctors ragged and humiliated his wife on WhatsApp because she belonged to a Scheduled Tribe.
Protesters from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and other Dalit and tribal organisations earlier held protests outside the hospital.
The accused have 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.
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345 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran return home via Armenia
New Delhi (PTI): A group of 345 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India via Armenia on Saturday, officials said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in return of the Indian nationals.
The Indian nationals arrived in Chennai this evening, the officials cited above said.
The circumstances that led to them being stranded in Iran were not immediately known.
"Thank FM @AraratMirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," Jaishankar said on social media.
Over 1,500 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago.
"A group of Indian fishermen, stranded in Iran, are returning home via Armenia today; their flight is expected to reach India this evening," a government statement said.
It said the Ministry of External Affairs continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in the West Asian region, with the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community being accorded the highest priority.
It also made a mention of five Indians being injured in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
According to Abu Dhabi authorities, the Indian nationals were among the 12 people injured by debris from an intercepted missile.
"In an attack in Abu Dhabi, five Indian nationals were injured; four have been discharged, one remains under treatment," the Indian government's statement said.
It said the Indian mission in Abu Dhabi is extending "full" assistance and coordinating with local authorities, adding that their flight is expected to reach India this evening.
