Gujarat: Surgeon among three detained over nurse’s ‘suicide’, 2 more booked

Megha had left behind a five-page note accusing head matrons Tara Gamit and Vanita Patel, and incharge civil surgeon Dr Avinash Dubey of harassing her “mentally and physically”. She also mentioned that her husband Ankit Khambhata and his mother Jayshree Khambhata, residents of Dharampur taluka, were harassing her, demanding a dowry of Rs 5 lakh.

Navsari police has booked all five under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304 (b) (dowry death), 306 (abetment to suicide), 354 (a) (use criminal force on a woman or abet such act), 498 (a) (Husband or relative of husband of a woman, subjecting her to cruelty) and 114 (more than one accused), as well as Prohibition of Dowry Act section 4 (Penalty for demanding dowry), 6 (Dowry received) and sexual harassment of woman at work place 2013, section 3.

Megha had been staying with her mother for the past six months, after her husband and his mother harassed her over Rs 5 lakh dowry. They also wanted Megha to leave her job, police said.

After the complaint was filed, Dr Dubey was admitted to New Civil hospital in Surat due to “chest pain”.

Circle inspector PG Chaudhary of Navsari said, “We have registered case of abetment to suicide against five persons, on the statements by the deceased nurse’s mother and the suicide note. We will arrest all the five accused shortly.”

Sources said that on May 18, 2020, Megha Acharya was felicitated as corona warrior by Navsari post department officials. A video she shared on social media with a message to the public on Covid-19 guidelines had gone viral.