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LUCKNOW/BHOPAL: A junior doctor at Lucknow's King George's Medical University (KGMU) - who was an accused in Madhya Pradesh's Vyapam scam - died on Monday after allegedly injecting herself with poison on Saturday. She was to appear for a CBI inquiry for her alleged involvement in the scam, for which she had been in jail for six months in 2015. The doctor, Manisha Sharma (30), who was out on bail.

Manisha's elder sister, Deepa Sharma, who had filed an FIR on Saturday naming a senior doctor at KGMU, Udham Singh , for 'mental torture' leading to her suicide, told TOI on Monday that the Kanpur-based family suspects it to being a case of murder and wants thorough investigation.

Junior doctor at KGMU's gynecology and obstetrics department, Manisha had been arrested in May 2015 by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Gwalior police for her role as an alleged 'solver' consecutively for two years in the pre-medical test (PMT). She was later granted conditional bail by the MP high court on November 3, 2015.

Vyapam scam is not the reason for her death, says girl’s family

As per the court mandate, Dr Manisha was to report to the "CBI office Chambal Colony Thatipur, Gwalior for her appearance on every second and fourth Sunday of the month between 10:00 to 12:00 O'clock to assist the investigating ifficer in holding the further/supplementary investigation of the impugned case against the other coaccused."

It also said that “Her single non-appearance shall cancel her bail automatically by the trial court concerned, without any further order of this court.”

Brought in to KGMU's trauma center with a palpable pulse and comatose condition, as a case of suspected poisoning on Saturday evening, Manisha was to appear before the Gwalior CBI office on Sunday, October 14, as per the court order.

The family says Vyapam scam is not the reason for the death. Her elder sister Deepa, while talking to TOI on Monday, and also in her FIR to Lucknow police on Sunday claimed that Manisha had taken the extreme step after being mentally harassed by a senior resident Udham Singh.

Deepa said, "I had spoken to Manisha on Friday evening and she was normal and happy. It was on Friday that she first introduced Udham Singh — senior resident in trauma surgery department of KGMU — to me and was talking well of him. I had never heard of him from her before this."

She continued, "On Saturday evening, around 7:45 pm I got a call from Manisha's number and it was Udham who spoke to me. He said that Manisha had injected herself with some high dose drug and was in a critical state. He asked us to leave for Lucknow immediately and he took Manisha to the trauma center."

Later in the night, Deepa said she spoke to Udham again on Manisha's cellular phone number. She said, "He told me that they had fought over something and Manisha had called him up to inform him that she was going to get the drug, which he took lightly and went about with his work. He told me that it was only later when when he got to her hostel room that he found her on the bed in a critical condition and informed the family."

Deepa claimed that Udham did not inform her what the two were fighting about and what did he exactly say to Dr Manisha that drove her to the extreme step. "What happened in the room only two people know, one of whom is now dead. She was a girl of grit and had not taken such a step when she was falsely accused and kept behind bars under Vyapam scam. Why would she commit suicide now? Something was done to her and we demand it be probed," said Deepa.CO Chowk, Durga Prasad Tiwari, said, “We have contacted Dr Udham Singh and he will come for questioning to the police station on Tuesday.”

A post graduate student in 2015 at KGMU, Dr Manisha was accused of appearing in PMT from Gwalior in 2008 for a student, Sarita Sharma and it was claimed by investigators that she had received Rs 2.5 lakh for appearing as a solver. She had allegedly appeared in the examination after her friend and middle man Umesh Baghel, who was also an accused, had insisted for it.

In 2009 again, Manisha had allegedly appeared for PMT for another student, Jyoti Yadav, and was said to have been paid the same amount the second time as well.

