He is also accused of telling her to take her own life.
Dr Dharavath Preethi, who attempted suicide after being harassed, tragically died in hospital.
She was a first-year postgraduate student at Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) in Telangana’s Warangal.
The 26-year-old passed away at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad where she was receiving treatment.
NIMS Medical Superintendent Dr N Satyanarayana said:
“Despite continuous efforts by a multidisciplinary team of specialist doctors, Dr Preethi could not be saved and was declared dead on February 26, 2023, at 9:10 pm.”
Her father said Dr Preethi was driven to suicide by senior doctor Dr Mohammed Saif after harassing her.
Members of student organisations gathered outside the hospital, demanding justice for Dr Preethi. Medical students at KMC have called for a strike.
On February 22, Dr Preethi was found unconscious in the MGM Hospital staff room while on duty.
It is believed that she attempted suicide with a muscle relaxant due to constant harassment from Dr Saif. He is also accused of telling her to take her own life.
Dr Saif has since been arrested on abetment to suicide.
He is a second-year MD student.
Police are awaiting the results of the toxicology report to determine what she injected herself with.
Police examined Dr Preethi and Dr Saif’s mobile phones and concluded that the deceased had been subjected to harassment.
Commissioner A V Ranganath said that police had mostly relied on discussions between the two and their group chats, as well as personal chats with other medical students.
It was reported that previously, the Telangana Junior Doctors Association sent their condolences to Dr Preethi’s family while also dismissing the allegations against Dr Saif.
They called for the charges to be dropped, saying such interactions between senior and junior doctors were common.
Dr Preethi’s father Dharavath Narender claimed Dr Saif had been harassing his daughter since she enrolled in November 2022.
He said his daughter phoned him on February 20 and broke down.
Mr Narender said:
“I think it was Dr Saif’s harsh actions that led to my daughter’s death. He murdered her.”
“He should receive the strictest punishment. I am not satisfied with the investigation by the Warangal police. We demand an inquiry by a sitting high court judge into this murder.”
Speaking about his daughter’s death, he added:
“Doctors said there was no improvement and her health condition remained as it was when she was first brought here, and there was no chance that she would survive.”
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