In what appears to be crucial piece of evidence in Dr Payal Tadvi’s suicide, a picture of a suicide note has been reportedly recovered from Tadvi’s phone. In the photo Tadvi has written the names of three doctors who used casteist slurs against her, reported Mumbai Mirror.
The three doctors who have been arrested for abetting Dr Tadvi’s suicide are Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Ankita Khandelwal and Dr Bhakti Mehare. They were arrested in May and are yet to receive bail. Dr Payal Tadvi’s family has alleged that the accused doctors used to harass her by using casteist slurs repeatedly, leading to her committing suicide on 22 May.
Mumbai Mirror reported that forensic experts said Dr Tadvi had clicked the picture to send it to her mother. She, however, apparently changed her mind later and did not end up sending the picture.
Two of the Accused Could Have Destroyed Note
When Dr Tadvi’s body was found in her hostel room, the police were not able to find a suicide note along with it.
Mumbai police had stated that two of the three accused doctors had spent about three minutes inside the room as soon as Dr Tadvi’s body was found. This further raised suspicions on whether the suicide note was removed from the spot before the police arrived.
Police believe they used the time they were in the room to destroy the suicide note and possibly some other evidence, the report said.
The Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory informed the Mumbai Crime Branch about the suicide note, reported Mumbai Mirror. The bail applications of the accused doctors will be heard on 16 July.
(With inputs from Mumbai Mirror.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)