On May 22, Dr Payal Tadvi, a 23 year old doctor hailing from a tribal community in Jalgaon allegedly committed suicide at her hostel in Mumbai’s prestigious Nair Hospital after being allegedly harassed by three seniors who would use casteist slurs against her. Even after repeated complaints, the hospital administration failed to take action against the perpetrators. This makes it a case of institutional murder, not unlike that of Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula. Youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar has now joined the chorus demanding justice for Dr Tadvi.
In a tweet Kumar, who recently contested parliamentary elections from Begusarai reminded everyone of the Rohith Vemula case and said that a nationwide movement was needed to root out casteism.
Dr Tadvi had completed her MBBS and was pursuing second year post graduate studies in the field of gynaecology. Her mother, Abeda Tadvi told News18, “I spoke to her around 4pm that day and she told me that she was being mentally tortured. She had complained to me earlier as well and I had requested the lecturers to address the issue but they ignored it. I also tried to meet the dean, but I was not allowed. I want justice for my daughter.” Dr Tadvi’s mother visited the hospital for her ongoing treatment for cancer and had filed a formal complaint in December 2018 and again on May 10, 2019. Abeda also says that Dr Tadvi was mocked on Whatsapp groups. The young doctor was reportedly told that she would never be allowed into operation theatres or allowed to perform deliveries.
Even Dr Tadvi’s husband Dr Salman had complained to the administration about Payal’s harassment, but very little changed. He told News18, “She first complained about the harassment in December. I met head of the department Dr Shirodkar. After this, Payal’s unit was changed for two months, but when she returned to the same unit after two months, the harassment continued.” Dr Salman further explained to The Hindu, “When she came to Nair Hospital for her postgraduation, she was asked to temporarily share a room with Dr. Hema Ahuja and Dr. Bhakti Mehar. The two began harassing her soon.” He added, “The two doctors would go to the toilet and wipe their feet on her mattress and litter it. When she would be away, they would taunt her that she was spending time with her husband.”
According to friends and colleagues, three senior doctors harassed Tadvi and used casteist slurs while addressing her and even mocked her on Whatsapp groups. They have been identified as Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehar and Ankita Khandelwal. An FIR has been registered against them under sections of the Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act, IT Act, as well as section 306 of the IPC. The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) has also suspended the trio’s registration.
However, the three accused have rubbished all allegations in a signed statement to the MARD. They claim ‘workload’ cannot be equated with ragging. “You all are aware of the workload in residency and do you all really believe burdened with the workload is ragging (sic)?” The accused feel that they have been wrongly targeted under media pressure and demand a thorough and unbiased inquiry,” reports Mumbai Mirror.
Meanwhile a protest march has been planned in Mumbai on May 28 to demand justice for Dr Tadvi and shed light on caste based oppression.
