On March 30, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, ordered the removal of the Superintendent of Police and suspension of a Station House Officer (SHO) in the suicide case of Dr Archana after she was booked for murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Lalsot Police Station in Dausa.
In addition, an FIR has been registered against Shiv Shankar Balya Joshi, a local leader, based on the complaint filed by the husband of the deceased doctor, Dr Suneet Upadhyay.
संभागीय आयुक्त श्री दिनेश कुमार यादव मामले की प्रशासनिक जांच करेंगे। बैठक में निर्णय लिया गया कि इस घटना में महिला चिकित्सक को आत्महत्या के लिए मजबूर करने वालों पर मुकदमा दर्ज कर कड़ी कार्रवाई की जाए।
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) March 30, 2022
In a series of Tweets, CM Gehlot said he had ordered the removal of SP Anil Kumar and suspension of SHO in the Dausa doctor suicide case. The administrative inquiry would be held on the matter under the supervision of the Divisional Commissioner of Jaipur, Dinesh Kumar Yadav.
In a video shared on March 30, Dr Suneet Upadhyaya had stated that Shiv Shankar Balya Joshi, the local politician who incited the dharna that led to the FIR against his wife, is a history-sheeter and has been under the protection of the BJP MLA of the region.
Details of FIR filed by deceased doctor’s husband
In his complaint, Dr Upadhyay stated a patient lost her life a day prior to the incident. Following her death, some local political leaders started sit-in protests outside the hospital to take advantage of the situation. Shiv Shankar Baliya Joshi played a key role in organizing the protest. He alleged that Joshi had threatened them earlier as well, and the couple had filed a complaint against him, but no action was taken.
He further added the patient did not die due to medical negligence. He blamed the Hindi daily Patrika for publishing the one-sided story and blaming the doctors. He said when his wife saw the report in the newspaper that FIR had been registered against her under 302, she could not take it and took the extreme step. He claimed Joshi wanted to file a case against the doctor and the hospital, irrespective of the fact that the patient’s family did not file any complaint.
FIR has been registered under Sections 306 (Abetment of suicide), 384 (Extortion) and 388 (Extortion by threat of accusation of an offence) of IPC.
The case of suicide of Dr Archana
On March 29, a female gynaecologist working at a private hospital in Rajasthan’s Dausa district committed suicide as she was stressed over the FIR filed against her under charges of murder based on unproven allegations of medical negligence. The deceased Dr Archana Sharma was blamed for murder by the family of the patient who died during childbirth.
The patient had suffered PPH, a known medical condition and as per doctors, it cannot be due to medical negligence.
In her suicide note, she wrote, “I didn’t commit any mistake. I didn’t kill anyone. Please do not harass my family and my children. The patient died of PPH, a known complication. Don’t harass doctors. Please. My death will perhaps prove my innocence.”
It is notable that booking doctors under murder charges have been explicitly prohibited by the Supreme Court until the alleged medical negligence is proven. Despite the directions from the apex court Rajasthan Police registered the case under IPC 302, just because some local politicians had politicised the issue.
