Three colleagues booked for abetting RML doctor's suicide

Three doctors of the Centre-run Ram Manohar Lohia hospital were booked on Thursday for allegedly abetting the suicide of their colleague, police said.

Dr Poonam Vohra, 52, allegedly committed suicide on Wednesday by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at her residence in North Avenue area here.

She was a consultant Radiologist at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital.

Following the incident, the RML Hospital has initiated an inquiry into the suicide of the doctor, who had allegedly blamed three of her colleagues from her department for harassing her.

According to hospital sources, the administration so far has not found anything against the three doctors concerned. The Health Ministry has also ordered an inquiry into the matter.

"The hospital inquiry so far has revealed that neither any inquiry nor any case of vigilance was being conducted against the doctor who has committed suicide. Interaction with the other doctors from her department also has not thrown any light in the matter. The probe is still on," a source at the hospital said.

An FIR has been registered under Indian Penal Code Section 306 (abetment to suicide, punishable with a maximum term of 10 years) against the three doctors who were named in the suicide note, Madhur Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) said.

The alleged doctors will be questioned in connection with the incident, he said.

Vohra was the chairperson of the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) committee at the hospital and two of the three members mentioned in her suicide note are members of the committee. Together, they were reviewing a case, he added.

In her suicide note, she alleged that they humiliated and harassed her, police said.

The North Avenue police station was informed about a suicide at 1 pm Wednesday, following which they rushed to the spot, police said.

Investigations revealed that Vohra was on leave. Her husband and two children were not at home at the time of incident. The flat was found locked from inside, a senior police officer had said.

A suicide note was also found from the spot. Legal proceedings have been initiated and the post-mortem will be conducted after her brother arrives from abroad, he said.

Vohra lived with her husband and two children at a government flat in Baba Kharag Singh Marg. Her husband works as a consultant with a private firm, police said.