Two days after a doctor in Rajasthan’s Dausa died allegedly by suicide – a day after being charged with causing a pregnant woman’s death – the latter’s husband told The Quint that he did not, in fact, file a police complaint against the doctor.
“Maine complaint nahi likhi. Biwi ke jaane ke baad main dukh mein tha, gussa tha hospital se. Mujhe bas itna yaad hai ki koi mere paas koi kaagaz leke aaya aur mujhse sign kara diye. (I did not file a complaint. After my wife passed away, I was aggrieved and angry with the hospital. All I remember is that someone came to me and made me sign a paper),” Laluram Bairwa, husband of deceased patient Asha Bairwa, told The Quint.
It was based on a complaint, allegedly filed by Laluram that police registered an FIR against Dr Archana Sharma under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.
What Had Happened?
On Monday, 28 March, 22-year-old Asha died during childbirth at Anand hospital in Dausa’s Lalsot. She had delivered a baby boy. A few hours after Asha’s family left the hospital with her body, and the newborn baby, an FIR was filed against Dr Archana and her husband Dr Suneet Upadhyay. The FIR was filed after police received a complaint allegedly from Asha’s husband Laluram.
A day later, on 29 March, Tuesday, Dr Archana, died allegedly by suicide at her residence. In a purported suicide note that she left behind, she wrote: “I love my husband and children a lot. Please don’t trouble them after my death. I have done nothing wrong and not killed anyone. PPH (postpartum haemorrhage) is a known complication and so stop harassing doctors so much over it. Perhaps my death might prove my innocence. Don’t harass innocent doctors. Please.”
Laluram, who works as a daily wage labourer, told The Quint, “Main anpadh aadmi hoon. Mujhe zyada likhana padna nahi aata. Maine complaint nahi likhi. (I am illiterate, I barely know how to read and write. I didn’t write the complaint.)"
Laluram and Asha have three daughters and now a son. Grief-stricken, he is now “scared” of all that has transpired in the last two days. When asked about why he is angry with the hospital, Laluram alleged “carelessness.”
He told The Quint, “Unhone biwi ki body aur beta ek sath diya. Unko ek-do din bache ko hospital mein rakhna chahiye tha. Kuch ho jata toh? (They handed over the body of my wife and our newborn son together. They should have kept the baby under observation for one or two days.)”
302 Was Later Removed From the FIR: Police
On Monday, the day Asha died, police lodged an FIR against Dr Archana and her husband Dr Suneet Upadhyay, who run the 'Anand' hospital where Asha was admitted, under sections 302 (murder) and 304 A (death by negligence).
Anil Kumar Beniwal, SP of Dausa, told The Quint, “These charges were not final. After the initial investigation, police removed section 302 of the IPC from the FIR. Only section 304A of the IPC remained.”
SP Beniwal added, “Just mentioning a section in the FIR does not mean that a person has been booked under this. The investigation had started in the case. In such cases a medical board is supposed to be formed to investigate the case and present a report.”
It is to be noted that as per guidelines of the Supreme Court, a doctor cannot be accused of medical negligence in any such incident, without proper investigation by an expert committee. “We had filed the FIR looking at the protest happening outside the hospital. The medical board and initial investigation would have happened after it,” Beniwal added.
"My Wife Tried Her Best To Save Patient": Dr Archana's Husband
Dr Suneet said, “My wife was treating Asha Bairwa, who had Post-Partum Haemorrhage (PPH) complication. She tried her best to save her. It was a complicated case and doctors at Dausa government hospital, and Jaipur too, had refused to attend to her.”
"Asha died around 1 pm on Monday, and her husband, brother, and father were convinced that it was a complicated case and that we tried our best to save her. They even asked for a refund of the fee which we did. They asked for an ambulance service, which we helped them with,” he added.
"Local BJP Leaders Instigated The Family": Dr Archana's Husband
As per Dr Suneet, the family returned to the hospital along with the body a few hours later, and did a dharna outside at the behest of a man called Shiv Shankar Joshi alias Baliya Joshi, who is affiliated with the BJP. "Baliya Joshi brought local BJP leaders with him and they shouted slogans such as 'hospital ko band karo, doctor ko jail mein daalo'. They stood there till 2 am.”
He alleged that the police was of little help, and has levelled allegations against Joshi and Gothwal for “instigating the family of the patient.”
SP Beniwal told The Quint, “Cases have been registered against Joshi in the past. He has been accused of disturbing communal harmony in the region before as well.”
He said that an FIR has been filed against Joshi and others at Lalsot police station under IPC sections of abetment of suicide and extortion after a complaint was received from Dr Suneet.
The Morning After The Patient’s Death
On 29 March, Tuesday, a day after Asha’s death and the protest outside the doctor couple's hospital, Dr Archana died, allegedly by suicide.
“On Tuesday morning, my wife read the newspaper at 7.30am and found out that a murder case has been registered against her. The news not only devastated her but she felt terrible that she has been held responsible for the death of a patient who she tried her best to save. Her brother and I consoled her, told her that nothing will go wrong, and that she is innocent. As a doctor who spent her life saving and treating people, this was a blot for her and she ended her life around 11am on Tuesday,” said Dr Suneet.
He said that Asha’s family called them on Saturday, and so she was admitted there.
“We knew the patient as she gave birth to twin daughters in our hospital three years ago. This time, she delivered a baby boy and we could save the baby but not her,” said Dr Suneet, who is a former professor in psychiatry.
The couple started running the multispecialty Anand hospital in Dausa in 2016. Before that, both were working in a government medical college in Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat.
The Second FIR
The FIR filed against Joshi and Gothwal also mentions a local scribe.
The FIR, filed after a complaint was sent by Dr Suneet, has been accessed by The Quint.
It reads, “In this case, the main role is of Baliya Joshi who had come to the hospital earlier as well and had threatened us. We had given a complaint at the police station but no action was taken against him and his morale was boosted. He (on Monday) did a sit-in protest (dharna pradarshan) and abused my father, something that my wife couldn't tolerate."
The FIR further reads, “She was troubled by the thought that Baliya Joshi will send her to jail even though she was not responsible. The relatives of this patient were fully satisfied after the death. They took the body home with full satisfaction because they had seen us struggle for two hours to save her. Arrangements were being made at the patient's home for her funeral but this vulture by the name of Baliya Joshi brought the body to the hospital and called others to assemble a crowd.”
In the FIR, Dr Suneet has alleged that Joshi, and a scribe “wanted a case lodged against the doctor even though he knew that the family members had no complaints”.
Grieving Children, Upset Colleagues
Dr Archana leaves behind two children – a 14-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter – who are understandably traumatised and grief-stricken.
Her husband told The Quint, “My son is in class 8 and did the last rites of my wife with me. My son has been crying ever since returning home. He keeps asking me if I too will leave him. My children are in shock. Their world has changed overnight, and they are unable to process that their mother is no more.”
Dr Archana's colleagues remember her as a “generous, humane and helpful doctor.”
Dr Mahesh Sharma, President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in Dausa, said, “She was a hard-working doctor who would be available 24x7 to treat people.”
Dr Durga Shankar Saini, Professor at Kota Medical College, remembers Dr Archana as a “servant of mankind.”
"She was not only good at her job but also an affectionate person and a caring mother. Her shocking death has put the fraternity under gloom," Dr Durga told The Quint.
Meanwhile, doctors’ associations alleged that local politicians pressured the police to act against Dr Archana.
"After Asha’s death on Monday, her husband Laluram Bairwa and her relatives sat in a protest outside the hospital and local politicians allegedly joined the family in protest. The police, after reaching the spot, allegedly assured them of appropriate action and booked Dr Archana Sharma,” said Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD) in its statement.
It also called the doctor’s death a “political murder” where local politicians are trying to gain political mileage through Asha Bairwa's death.
Doctors’ Associations Demand Action
Many doctors’ associations have demanded the suspension of the police personnel, and the arrest of the two men who were allegedly responsible for instigating Asha's family and pressuring the police.
Private hospitals across Rajasthan remained partially shut as a mark of protest on Wednesday, 30 March.
“Postpartum haemorrhage is a known complication following delivery in pregnant women," said FORDA ( Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association India) in its statement.
"Local politicians pressurised the police into filing an FIR for murder against the doctor and that led to her alleged suicide,” added FORDA.
The medical bodies across India such as the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Rajasthan state branch, Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association India (FORDA), United Private Clinics and Hospitals Association of Rajasthan (UPCHAR), Rajasthan Medical College Teachers Association, Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD) have condemned the incident and some of them called for a six-hour state-wide shutdown of medical institutions.
Rajasthan Health Minister Parasadi Lal Meena on Wednesday, 30 March, said that the state government will conduct a thorough enquiry into the incident and appropriate action will be taken.
“This is a tragic incident, a young doctor lost her life due to negligence. 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. The government will take strict and appropriate action after the thorough enquiry into the case,” the minister said.
Action Against Cops
Late on Wednesday evening, while chairing a high-level meeting at his residence, CM Ashok Gehlot ordered the removal of Dausa SP Anil Kumar Beniwal, and also ordered the suspension of Lalsot SHO. The Circle Officer was also put on Awaiting posting order (APO).
SP Beniwal was transferred to the post of SP Civil rights and anti-human trafficking in Jaipur.
Earlier on Wednesday, Gehlot had termed the alleged suicide of a doctor as deeply saddening and said that the “guilty will not be spared”.
Tabeenah Anjum is a senior journalist based in Rajasthan who reports on politics, gender, human rights and issues impacting marginalised communities. She tweets at @tabeenahanjum
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