A furore was created online after the report of the suicide of Dr Payal Tadvi, who was a Mumbai-based doctor and postgraduate student as a result of caste-based harassment. Twenty six-year-old Dr Payal Tadvi was a second-year resident doctor at the BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central. Tadvi had joined the college on a reservation quota.

Her husband, Dr Salman Tadvi, told the Indian newspaper The Hindu that when she joined the Nair Hospital for her postgraduation, she was asked to temporarily share a room with Dr Hema Ahuja and Dr Bhakti Mehar. The two started harassing her shortly. The two doctors would go to the toilet and wipe their feet on her mattress and litter it. When she would be away, they would taunt her for spending time with her husband.

The two doctors, along with another doctor, allegedly made fun of her caste and posted derogatory messages on a Whatsapp group.

Her mother, Abeda Tadvi, had filed a written complaint to the head of the department in the hospital but no steps are taken yet. Her mother further said that whenever she used to speak to her on the phone, she would say that these three people tortured her as she belongs to a tribal community. She further said that if the authorities would have acted quickly and shown sensitivity, her daughter would have been alive today.

The report had stated that hours before she died, Dr Tadvi told her mother that she was unable to bear the torment from the three doctors, who are absconding since they came to about her suicide.

According to news agency ANI, The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors has cancelled the memberships of the three accused. In their response, the accused urged the association to conduct a fair investigation, stating to their heavy workload in letter.

The Agripada police have registered a case against the three accused under section 306 (abetment for suicide) of the Indian penal code (IPC), sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Act, Anti-Ragging Act and Information Technology Act, 2000.

On social media, users were shocked by the incident and used #JusticeForPayal and #JusticeForDrPayal to raise awareness regarding this case and against caste-based discrimination in Indian society.