Protesters including the parents of a 26-year-old doctor, who was allegedly driven to commit suicide by her seniors, staged a demonstration today outside a state-run hospital in Mumbai where she had worked.
Payal Tadvi, who worked as gynecologist at BYL Nair Hospital, allegedly ended her life after facing caste slurs from three of her senior colleagues. Ms Tadvi's husband Salman and mother Abida Salim demanded "strictest action" against three women doctors -- Ankita Khandelwal, Hema Ahuja and Bhakti Mehare.
"She was picked on for being lower caste and was ragged quite a bit by her seniors. The seniors said they will not let her study. They used to humiliate her on WhatsApp too," her husband Salman told NDTV.
Members of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and other Dalit and tribal organisations are also taking part in the protest.
"We want the government to intervene. The police are not taking any action. It is possible that Payal was murdered by the three women doctors," Mr Tadvi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Expressing solidarity with the protesters, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said he would visit Maharashtra if needed to "fight for justice for our younger sister.
The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has also taken cognisance of the matter and issued a notice to the hospital authorities demanding a reply within eight days.
The three women doctors, who are accused of driving Ms Tadvi to suicide, have sought a "fair probe" in the case.
In a letter to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), the three said they want the college to conduct a fair investigation in the matter and "give justice" to them.
"This is not the way to do an investigation through police force and media pressure, without hearing our side," the three doctors said in the letter.
MARD has suspended the three doctors. A senior MARD official said the association will cooperate with the police in the investigation.
Ms Tadvi, hanged herself on May 22 after facing caste slurs from her senior colleagues.
The three doctors were charged under the Atrocities Act, the Anti-Ragging Act and the IT Act and Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
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