Hyderabad medical student dies by suicide after alleged harassment by senior

Delhi (India), February 27, 2023: A first-year postgraduate medical student, D Preethi, died in Hyderabad on Sunday night, four days after allegedly attempting suicide due to harassment by her senior at Kakatiya Medical College, according to the police.

The 26-year-old was found unconscious after working the night shift at MGM Hospital and was then moved to Hyderabad in critical condition.

The police arrested a second-year post-graduate student, Mohammed Ali Saif, on charges of ragging, abetment to suicide, and harassment under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on the victim’s father’s complaint.

Warangal police commissioner AV Ranganath stated that “The WhatsApp chats on both the victim’s and accused’s phones suggested ragging.”

The victim’s family had reportedly complained about the senior student to the college and hospital authorities, but no action was taken. Following the incident, several Lambada tribal unions protested in front of NIMS at Hyderabad, Kakatiya Medical College, and MGM Hospital at Warangal.

The National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for SC/ST have taken cognizance of the incident and issued notices to the government, the superintendent of MGM Hospital, and the principal and head of the department of anesthesiology where Preethi was a student.

The governor of Hyderabad, Tamilisai Soundararajan, had visited Preethi in the hospital, and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh has been announced for the victim’s family.