Mumbai | A new report by the college’s Anti-Ragging committee confirms that Dr Payal Tyagi was indeed harassed by the seniors for her caste.
On May 22, she was seen rushing out of an operation theatre, crying. According to the onlookers, she was scolded in front of the other staff and patients.
This was hours before she was seen hanging from her hostel room.
These events are part of a report submitted by the anti-ragging committee of the college attached to B Y L Nair Hospital on the reasons behind the suicide of Payal (26), a second-year PG student of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.
She faced “extreme harassment” after her husband had filed a complaint to gynaecology unit head at the TN Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai. They had come to know regarding the complaint against them.
Payal belonged to the Tadvi Muslim Bhil Scheduled Tribe community.
The report consists of statements of more than 30 witnesses including her parents, friends, seniors, and other staff.
Payal’s family said that after a complaint was filed against the three seniors, they threatened her that they will not let her complete her year. One of them allegedly threw a file at her and reproached her for “shoddy” work.
According to her husband Salma Tadvi, who works as an associate professor with Dr R N Cooper Hospital, the three seniors did not let his wife perform caesarean procedures after his complaint. “They would make her do minor work. First-year students who joined on May 1 were asked to assist in deliveries but Payal, despite being in the second year, was not allowed to work,” he claimed.
“I regret that I didn’t raise the caste discrimination issue because I was worried about the career of those three girls. I will regret this my entire life,” said Salman. “I could have raised the matter through top college authorities but preferred to follow protocol and approached the unit head first,” he added.
Her mother Abeda Salim said that she used to cry every day. She said that Payal had complained to the unit head, but to no avail. Instead, the torture just increased.
The family also claimed that Payal overheard a conversation among the three seniors in which they referred to her and allegedly said that “these caste people don’t know anything” and that “she got admission through caste quota”.
“I kept telling her to ignore them and study. I was wrong. Why should we hear taunts over our caste? This is the worst kind of caste discrimination,” Salman said.
Also Read: Third doctor arrested in Nair Hospital suicide case
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
