Charge-sheet in Payal Tadvi suicide case to be filed today or tomorrow, says SPP

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Raja Thakre on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that the charge-sheet in Payal Tadvi suicide case would be filed either today or on Wednesday.

"We will file the charge-sheet either by the end of the day today or by tomorrow," said Thakre.

Justice DS Naidu was hearing the bail application moved by three doctors, who are accused of abetting suicide of their junior Payal Tadvi at a government hospital.

During the course of hearing, the counsel for the trio requested the court to release them on bail.

A Sessions Court had earlier rejected the bail plea filed by the three accused.

Tadvi, who belonged to the Scheduled Tribe community, ended her life in her hostel room at BYL Nair Hospital here on May 22, allegedly after facing harassment from her seniors due to her caste.

The Forensic Department had recovered a suicide note left behind by Payal on her phone.

Gunaratna Sadavarte, the counsel for the deceased, said that the suicide note not only mentioned the casteist abuses, but also the names of three accused senior women doctors, who have been arrested in the case. The post-mortem examination report of Tadavi's death revealed the evidence of a ligature mark on her neck.

Her family alleged that three of her seniors ragged and hurled casteist abuses at her, forcing her to take the extreme step.

The trio -- Hema Ahuja, Ankita Khandelwal, and Bhakti Mehre -- were booked under the charges of abetment of suicide and various provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act in connection with this.