Dr Payal Tadvi/Facebook

Writers and activists are demanding justice after Payal Tadvi, a resident doctor studying gynaecology at the BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai, was found hanging in her hostel room on 22 May. On Monday, the three senior doctors accused of harassing her wrote to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors demanding a “fair” probe into the case by the hospital. Tadvi’s family has accused the hospital management of not taking action as she was being harassed by the three doctors for belonging to a lower caste. “Whenever she used to speak to me on phone, she would say, ‘These three (senior doctors) people torture her as I belongs to a tribal community, use casteist slurs on her.’ We want justice for her,” Tadvi’s mother Abeda told ANI.

Abeda Tadvi, mother of Payal Tadvi, a PG student of Gynaecology who committed suicide on May 22: Whenever she used to speak to me on a call, she would say 'these (3 senior doctors) people torture me as I belong to a tribal community, use casteist slurs.' We want justice for her pic.twitter.com/Z5uPGyKx6S — ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019

On 23 May, the Agripada police registered a case against Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehar and Dr Ankita Khandilwal under relevant sections of the IPC, SC/ST Atrocities Act, Anti-Ragging Act and Information Technology Act, 2000, the Hindustan Times reported. The FIR says Payal was taunted on WhatsApp groups, threatened that she would not be allowed into the operation theatre or perform deliveries and not be allowed to study, reports Mumbai Mirror. Abeda said Payal had called her crying about the harassment at the hospital. “On May 10, my daughter called me. She was crying and told me about the harassment she had been facing. I was rattled and wrote a complaint the same night. On May 13, I went to the dean to hand over the letter but we were not allowed to go in,” Abeda told HT. Abeda told NDTV that the hospital’s management had told the family they would look into the matter, but refused to give any assurance in writing. However, the hospital’s dean Ramesh Bharmal denied the allegations and said they had not received any complaints. “Dr Payal’s mother’s claims that she had complained to the hospital about the alleged torture being meted out to her daughter are not true. We have received no complaint till date regarding this issue,” Bharmal told the news channel. He also said the hospital had formed an anti-ragging committee, summoned the three doctors and would file its report soon. Activists and writers have condemned the incident and called for action, tweeting with the hashtag #JusticeForDrPayal.

Payal Tadvi's mother had lodged a formal complaint to the Nair hospital on May 10, and still, the hospital administration took no action. #InstutionalMurder#JusticeForDrPayalpic.twitter.com/gMkYszcxie — DK (@anticastecat) May 26, 2019

Going through Dr Payal Tadvi’s twitter account makes it unbelievable for us that she’s not here with us anymore. We have lost not just a doctor but a person who cared so much about the rights to nutrition, education , hygiene and lot more. We will take forward your fight doctor! — DK (@anticastecat) May 27, 2019

UGC guidelines ask every college to hv Equal Opportunity Cells, though they don't hv any power but these are the least that the state has provided us but most of the medical colleges do not hv them Why? Because they thrive on the dead bodies of Bahujan Students #JusticeForDrPayal — Tejaswini Tabhane (@Tejaswi2406) May 26, 2019

I wonder if Payal's college had any Adivasi professors and other staff members she could go to. While strong policies and systems matter, so does representation. Bahujans can't trust upper castes to be just even if the systems are strong. — Tejas Harad (@h_tejas) May 26, 2019

The college's apathy and inaction to her complaints represent the lackadaisical attitude institutions show towards serious issues faced by Tribals, Dalits and Women. If a student cant rely on her college for justice, where else can she go? #JusticeForDrPayal#InstitutionalMurder — Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) May 26, 2019

I appeal to each and every student across India, it is high time we create safe schools, colleges, universities that are safe and inclusive. This is the first step towards creating a society free of discrimination and divisions. #JusticeForDrPayal#InstitutionalMurder — Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) May 26, 2019

The three doctors on Monday wrote to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors. In the letter, they suggest that heavy workload allotted to doctor during their residency at the hospital was being equated with ragging. The three also seemingly deny allegations of caste discrimination but do not address any of the allegations made in Abeda’s complaint directly. “We want the college to conduct a fair investigation to give justice. But this is not the way to do investigation through police force and media pressure without listening to our side.”

Payal Tadvi,student of BYL Nair Hospital,suicide case: 3 accused doctors write to Maha Assn of Resident Doctors, state "We want college to conduct fair investigation. But this isn't the way to do investigation through police force&media pressure without listening to our side..." pic.twitter.com/pNAjJRswND — ANI (@ANI) May 27, 2019