india

Updated: Jun 17, 2019 13:15 IST

A day after Dr Geeta Gathwala, head of department (HoD) of paediatrics at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Services (PGIMS), Rohtak, was suspended after a 30-year-old doctor pursuing MD course committed suicide, she claimed to have granted him leave to attend his sister’s marriage scheduled on June 12.

Dr Omkar, who hailed from Dharwad district in Karnataka, was found dead in his hostel room late Thursday night.

Talking to HT, Dr Gathwala said she had granted leave to Omkar from June 10 to 24.

“I had released the leave roster on June 4 and sent the same to the doctors’ concerned and the PGIMS director. I thought Omkar had gone to his house to attend his sister’s marriage but unfortunately he didn’t go and ended his life. It was a saddening moment for me as I never pressurised him for the thesis work. Omkar had already showed his thesis work to me and the last date for the submission of the same was June 30. Only the thesis binding work was left in his case,” she added.

The HOD accused some doctors of tarnishing her image by making “false” allegations against her. “I am on one-month leave and I did not have any role in the doctor’s suicide incident. I heard from some doctors that Omkar was facing financial problems and he was under depression as he had to appear in court hearings because he was held guilty of negligence in a child’s death case,” she said.

She claimed that she was not part of the committee that held Dr Omkar responsible for the child’s death due to medical negligence.

Omkar’s colleagues dismissed Dr Gathwala’s claims saying she not only refused to grant him leave to attend his sister’s marriage but also harassed him.

Dr Omkar committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan using a duppata which he had purchased to gift his sister on her wedding. His colleagues blamed Dr Gathwala for the extreme step and of not granting him leave to attend his sister’s marriage.

The Rohtak police had booked Dr Gathwala under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.

On Saturday Dr Gathwala filed a complaint against 20 doctors foe allegedly vandalising her residence and stealing two mobile phones and keys of her cars. She also accused them of hurling abuses at her husband Dr Ishwar Singh.

A case was registered against the doctors under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). PGIMS director Rohtash K Yadav could not be reached to confirm whether he received a roster from Dr Gathwala pertaining to leave granted to Dr Omkar.