Jaipur : The suicide by a gynaecologist Archana Sharma in Rajasthan after being booked under Section 302 (murder) has snowballed into a political controversy with the opposition claiming it to be the death of the system while the government promised to conduct a fair investigation into the matter.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday expressed grief over the incident.
In his tweet, he said, “We treat doctors as God. Every doctor does his best to save the life of the patient. But it is not justified to accuse the doctor as soon as any unfortunate incident happens. If doctors will be intimidated like this, then how will they be able to do their work with confidence. We all should think that in the time of Covid pandemic or in case of suffering from other ailments, the doctors served everyone by risking their lives. How can such treatment be meted out to them.”
Gehlot said that the whole matter is being investigated seriously. The guilty will not be spared.
Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje said that there should be a fair investigation into this incident. State health minister Parsadi Lal Meena said that the incident is sad. This should not have happened. This is the negligence of the administration. If the case had not been registered under section 302, she would not have committed suicide. This is the ignorance of the police officers. Action will be taken according to the suicide note.
Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria said that there are central and state laws for the safety of doctors. “No one can be held guilty until the investigation is over. Action is taken only if it is proved in the investigation. In this case of a female doctor, it was wrong to take action on the very first day by making her a criminal under section 302. The doctor performs his duty responsibly. The state government should show sensitivity on such subjects.”
State BJP president Satish Poonia also questioned the attitude of the police which registered a case against the doctor under section 302.
“Registering a case against a doctor under Section 302 and that too against the guidelines of the Supreme Court, because there was pressure from Congress leaders! What is going on in the state, is the Home Minister just a puppet?
“This is not a doctor’s suicide but the suicide of the system,” he commented.
The medical community, anguished by this incident, has now started to raise their voice. In the capital Jaipur, doctors took out a rally from the state’s largest Sawai Mansingh Hospital to the Statue Circle.
A pregnant woman died suddenly during delivery on Monday at Anand Hospital in Lalsot town of Dausa. Following this, a case of murder was registered against Dr Archana Sharma, after the uproar by the relatives of the deceased and the villagers. Hurt by this, Dr Archana committed suicide by hanging herself at home on Tuesday morning. Earlier, she had written an emotional suicide note in which she climed to be innocent.
–IANS