A day after Dr Archana Sharma committed suicide after being stressed over an FIR filed against her under section 302 of IPC, accusing her of medical negligence, her husband Dr Suneet Upadhyay accused the local politicians and journalists of spreading misinformation in the case. He said that the local leaders and the journalists pressurized the police to lodge an FIR against the doctors.
On March 28, a 22-year-old pregnant woman was brought to Anand hospital run by Dr Archana Sharma and her husband. Though she was taken to the labour room, her condition deteriorated and she died due to heavy blood loss. Dr Upadhay, in his statement, said that the patient had died of PPH complications and that the doctors at the hospital had tried their best to save the life of the deceased. Even the relatives of the family members had upheld the efforts and had accepted the situation.
Dr Archana Sharma’s bereaved husband Dr Suneet Upadhyay. Hear him, PM @narendramodi HM @mansukhmandviya And please let us doctors know what action you will take against Kirodi Lal Meena and his subordinate goons from your party who are responsible for her death. pic.twitter.com/02P9pTWvM4
— Amit Thadhani (@amitsurg) March 30, 2022
“The family requested the hospital to arrange for an ambulance so that they could take the deceased person home for last rites. We helped them with the free ambulance service”, he said adding that BJP’s Shiv Shankar Balya Joshi later allegedly went to the family and brought back the dead body to the hospital. “Joshi with the help of Dr Kirodi Lal Meena promised the family to get monetary aid from the CM’s fund. They gathered a crowd of 200 people, called other BJP leaders, and protested against the hospital. They also accused Dr Archana Sharma of an attempt to murder”, he accused.
According to Upadhyay, Joshi forced the police to register the case under section 302 of IPC. He added that Dr Archana read the news in Rajasthan Patrika the next day and could not handle the pressure. “She got scared. She was constantly saying that journalist Mahesh Bihari, Joshi, and Kirodi Lal Meena would send her to jail”, he stated. He also alleged that the journalist Mahesh Bihari had spread misinformation by considering one side of the story. “He didn’t consider and print the hospital’s say in the matter”, Upadhyay said.
Part 2. pic.twitter.com/KaPo3UT6cI
— Amit Thadhani (@amitsurg) March 30, 2022
Dr Archana Sharma, unable to handle the pressure hanged herself in a hospital room and left a suicide note in which she mentioned that the patient had died due to postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) post-delivery, a known medical complication. “I didn’t commit any mistake. I didn’t kill anyone. Please do not harass my family and my children. The patient died of PPH, a known complication. Don’t harass doctors. Please. My death will perhaps prove my innocence”, the handwritten note read.
Dr Upadhyay, in the meanwhile, also made an appeal that the doctor’s fraternity should not be harassed by politicians and the police. “People like Bihari, Joshi should not be allowed to create violence in hospitals. Dr Kirodi Lal Meena should stop supporting these people and the police should arrest them immediately”, he said adding that Joshi was a goon and had also hit the police earlier.
Audio clip of a conversation between a protester and a Dalit leader surfaces, suggests that Dr Archana could have been victim of Dalit politics
Meanwhile, an audio clip has emerged which suggests that Dr Archana could have been a victim of Dalit politics and how provisions of the SC/ST Act are exploited and weaponised by corrupt politicians. In the audio clip, a protester is in conversation with an alleged Dalit leader wherein the latter urges the protester to settle for at least Rs 50 lakhs as compensation and no less than that. When the protester informs the leader that they have settled for Rs 3 lakhs, the Dalit leader bristles at him, telling him that they could easily get Rs 4-5 lakhs under the SC/ST Act.
“Are you mad? Don’t ruin the game. You could easily get Rs 4 to 5 lakhs from the state government under the SC/ST Act. Why are you settling the matter for just Rs 3 lakhs? You should demand no less than Rs 50 lakhs from them(doctors and hospital authorities) to settle the issue. Don’t spoil the game by agreeing for just Rs 3 lakhs,” an alleged Dalit leader is heard telling a protester who is demonstrating against the doctors and the hospital over the death of a 22-year-old pregnant lady.
Dr Sharma had worked as an associate professor and a unit head in Gandhinagar’s government medical college before joining her husband at Lalsot’s Anand Hospital. According to police, the pregnant woman died at the hospital after delivering her fourth child and the deceased’s family had accused the doctor of medical negligence.
