A 25-year-old Master of Surgery (ophthalmology) student from Ambala was found dead in the early hours of Wednesday inside her car parked near her institute in Dehradun's Patel Nagar.
A 25-year-old Master of Surgery (ophthalmology) student from Ambala was found dead in the early hours of Wednesday inside her car parked near her institute in Dehradun's Patel Nagar. The student, Tanvi, had been pursuing her studies at Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical & Health Sciences for the past three years. She lived in rented accommodation with her mother. Her father, an Ayurveda practitioner based in Ambala, has accused her head of department of harassment that allegedly pushed her to take the extreme step.
The father said he rushed to Dehradun after she stopped responding to his calls late Tuesday night. “She was very disturbed due to the harassment by her HoD, who was promoted around four months ago. Since then, the HoD had been forcing her to cut all contact with her thesis guide and previous HoD. When my daughter refused, citing her ongoing thesis, the HoD started giving her ‘0' marks in her duty logs despite her being good in studies and earlier getting an average of ‘6'.”
“On Tuesday too, she called me and spoke about the constant harassment. When she didn't respond to my calls later and didn't return home, I feared she might have taken a drastic step,” he added.
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He reached Dehradun around 3 am and found her unconscious inside her locked car near a temple close to the hospital where she was on duty. “I broke open the rear window and found a cannula in her left arm. She had injected some chemical into her body. I rushed her to the hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. We are completely broken and want justice. We have lodged a complaint at the Patelnagar police station,” he said.
Police have acknowledged receiving the complaint. Senior sub-inspector Pramod Shah confirmed that an inquiry is underway. “However, a case is yet to be registered as police are inquiring about allegations made in the complaint. Appropriate legal action would be taken accordingly,” he said.
Student had history of mental health issues: Institute's management
Meanwhile, the institute’s management has stated that the student had a history of mental health issues and was undergoing treatment. “It has been reported that she had earlier attempted suicide twice — once two years ago and again on Dec 31 last year. Her parents were aware and were getting her psychiatric treatment. Due to her condition, her parents were staying near the campus. The written consent in regards to her mental illness was submitted by her parents at the medical superintendent's office in the past,” said Bhupendra Raturi, chief PRO of SGRRIMHS.
The institute said the matter has been reported to the Dehradun SSP. “She was brought to the hospital emergency by her guardian around 3:15 am, where she was declared dead by the doctors.”
It added, “We also wish to inform you that some people are taking undue advantage of the situation and are talking about filing an FIR to tarnish the image of the doctors and the hospital, which is not justified. This will have an adverse effect on the morale of doctors. We humbly request you to take cognisance of the matter and take necessary action.”
