A doctor who had been booked for allegedly causing the death of a pregnant woman in Rajasthan’s Dausa district died by suicide on Tuesday, PTI reported.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Dausa) Lal Chand Kayal said that the doctor, Archana Sharma, hanged herself to death at her house above the hospital that she used to run along with her husband.
Earlier on Tuesday, the pregnant woman had died at the hospital.The woman’s family members had held a protest outside the hospital and sought action against the doctor. The police had then filed a first information report against Sharma and booked her under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with murder, according to The Indian Express.
The police recovered a suicide note, in which the doctor reportedly wrote, “Mera marna shayad meri begunahi sabit kar de [perhaps my death will prove that I was not guilty]”.
Doctors in Rajasthan and Delhi have planned protests to condemn police action in the case. The Indian Medical Association’s Rajasthan unit has called for a 24-hour suspension of medical services in the state, starting from 6 am on Wednesday, ANI reported.
The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association India has announced that it will hold a candle light protest at 6.30 pm on Thursday at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The doctors’ body said that as per guidelines issued by the Supreme Court, a doctor cannot be accused of medical negligence in such cases without an investigation by an expert committee.
FORDA India noted that the patient had died due to post-partum haemorrhage – excessive bleeding after childbirth. It said that the complication is a “known and established entity and even the best possible efforts by doctors fall short at times”.
“In the above-mentioned case, to make matters, [an] FIR under Section 302 IPC [Indian Penal Code] was filed by the state police on the behest of protesting attendants,” it said.
The association demanded an investigation into the matter, withdrawal of the FIR and compensation to Sharma’s family from the state government.
Resident doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences also called for a symbolic agitation and said that they will wear black ribbons to work as a mark of protest.
On Wednesday, Rajasthan Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said that the state government will carry out a detailed inquiry and will take appropriate action.
“This is a tragic incident, a young doctor lost her life due to negligence,” he said, according to ANI. “The police should not have registered the case under Section 302, it is against the decision of the Supreme Court. The medical community is furious over the case, and it is completely valid.”
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