Dr Payal Death Case: ‘Dr Tadvi was murdered,’ claims lawyer after autopsy makes shocking revelation

In a major development in Mumbai’s doctor Payal Tadvi’s death case, the lawyer of the victim’s family has alleged she was being murdered. According to News 18 reports, the autopsy report of Dr Payal Tadvi has revealed evidence of a light mark of injury on her neck. Dr Tadvi was found dead in her hostel room on May 22.

According to ANI, Under ''provisional cause of death'', the post-mortem report stated ''evidence of ligature mark over the neck,'' the ANI reported. The Mumbai police have arrested three seniors doctors on Tuesday, who is accused of harassing junior doctor with casteist slurs and abetting her to suicide.

All the three--Bhakti Mehre, Ankita Khandelwal and Hema Ahuja -- were produced before Mumbai court, which sent them to two-day police custody till 31st May as her family sought directions for the crime to be treated as a murder.

Meanwhile, Nitin Salute, lawyer of Payal’s family argued in the court that the second-year medical student was could be murdered. “The accused had taken Payal’s body to some other place and it was later brought back to the hospital, so there is a suspicion of tampering. From the circumstances of her death and bruise mark on her body, it can be said that it must be a case of murder. Therefore, the police must look at this as a murder case,” Salute said.

“All cellphone records are already with the police and nothing more is left with the accused. There is no need of police custody at this stage and the accused should be sent to judicial custody instead,” the defence lawyer said, arguing that the hostel room, where Dr Tadvi’s body was found, was closed from inside.

A 26-year-old Dr Payal Tadvi, a second-year student of Gynaecology at the BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai, was found hanging inside her hostel room on May 22. Dr Tadvi’s mother claimed that her daughter was repeatedly harassed by three senior doctors, who hurled casteist slurs at her and even embarrassed her on a WhatsApp group.

All of the accused doctors have been named in the FIR filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, IPC sections for abetment to suicide and Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1999.

Also read: Dr Payal Death Case: All 3 female doctors held for abetting ‘suicide’; college confirms harassment