A woman doctor, who was accused causing the death of a pregnant woman at a private facility in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, committed suicide on Tuesday, complaining of harassment after police booked her for murder in connection with the death.
According to police, the pregnant woman died at the hospital run by Dr Archana Sharma and her husband on Tuesday. An FIR was registered against Archana at the Lalsot Police Station after family members of the pregnant woman held a demonstration outside the hospital and demanded immediate action against the erring doctor.
Stressed over the FIR, Archana hanged herself to death, police said.
She left behind a poignant suicide note wherein she asserted her innocence and asked the authorities not to harass her husband and her two children after her death.
In the note, Archana asserted that the patient died of postpartum haemorrhage despite all efforts to save her. “Don’t harass innocent doctors,” she wrote in all-caps, the NDTV reported. Her death will prove her innocence, she said.
Archana was booked for the death of the pregnant woman due to negligence in treatment. She hanged herself to death at her residence above the hospital on Tuesday, Additional SP (Dausa) Lal Chand Kayal said. The matter is being investigated further, he said.
Doctors at private hospitals in Rajasthan went on strike on Wednesday to protest against the filing of FIR against Archana and her husband. Government doctors also backed the protest, taking part in a march by private hospital doctors from SMS government hospital to Statue Circle in Jaipur. Similar rally was also held in Dausa.
In a one-page suicide note, Archana Sharma said her death may prove her innocence and appealed to everyone to stop harassing innocent doctors.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident and said an inquiry is going on and those found guilty will not be spared. “The incident of Dr. Archana Sharma’s suicide in Dausa is very sad. We all give the status of god to doctors. Doctors try their best to save the life of their patients, but it is not justified to accuse the doctor if an unfortunate incident happens,” Gehlot said in a tweet in Hindi.
Relatives of the pregnant woman alleged that she died in Sharma’s hospital on Monday due to her negligence and held a demonstration with the dead body. The police then registered an FIR under section 302 of Indian Penal Code against Sharma.
On Tuesday, Sharma committed suicide by hanging herself at her residence above the private hospital.
Meanwhile, president of the state government’s Vipra Welfare Board, Mahesh Sharma, alleged that local BJP leaders had mentally harassed the doctor and also raised doubts over the role of police. He also demanded the arrest of the accused involved in the matter.
Dr Vijay Kapoor, secretary of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), demanded that guilty police officers should be suspended and an FIR against them should be registered under Medical Professional Protection Act and for abetment to suicide. He also alleged that the case of murder was registered without a fair probe which led to the suicide of the doctor.
Dausa police has already registered a case for abetment to suicide against a man named Baliya Joshi who led the protest against Sharma on Monday.
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