Payal Tadvi death: Forensic lab submits DNA analysis report to police; case doesn't seem to be homicide, says official

Mumbai: The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has submitted to Mumbai Police its DNA analysis report in connection with the alleged suicide case of doctor Payal Tadvi, a senior official said on Sunday, adding that it does not seem to be a case of homicide. The FSL’s cyber unit will also submit its final report within one week, he said. Tadvi (26), a second year post-graduate medical student attached to the civic-run BYL Nair Hospital in central Mumbai, hanged herself in a hostel room on May 22 after alleged casteist slurs by her senior colleagues. [caption id=“attachment_6717491” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Payal Tadvi. Image/Facebook[/caption] The FSL at suburban Kalina has since then been examining various samples collected from the spot of the incident, including Tadvi’s ‘dupatta’ (long scarf) which she allegedly used to hang herself, blood in her nails, mobile phone and other material. The unit conducting DNA analysis submitted its report to the police crime branch two days back, the official said. “We have already submitted the suicide note found in her phone and after the DNA analysis, it seems it is a case of suicide and not homicide. We have examined her dupatta by which she was found hanging,” he said. The official said their cyber unit was still trying to gather more information from Tadvi’s mobile phone. “We have come to know in how many WhatsApp groups she was, with whom she used to chat. We are also checking details of her e-mails and would also scan information pertaining to other social networking sites on which she logged in from her phone,” a senior FSL official said. The cyber unit will submit its report within a week, he said. Earlier, photos of the purported suicide note left behind by Tadvi were found in her mobile phone during a forensic examination of the device. The suicide note, a crucial piece of evidence, purportedly mentioned that three senior women doctors used to hurl casteist abuses and intimidate her. Notably, after Tadvi’s autopsy report mentioned “evidence of ligature mark over the neck”, the counsel for her family, Nitin Satpute, alleged that she was killed. Earlier, three women doctors - Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Meher and Ankita Khandelwal - were arrested in May for allegedly abetting the suicide of Tadvi. They were granted bail by the Bombay High Court last month on a cash surety of Rs 2 lakh each.