Dr Mohammad Saif, the prime accused in the death by suicide of medical postgraduate student Dr Dharavath Preethi of Kakatiya Medical College in February, was granted bail on April 20.
Warangal police commissioner A.V. Ranganath on April 21 said that Dr Preethi Dharavath, a postgraduate student of Kakatiya Medical College, had died by suicide in February after she was mentally harassed by her senior, Dr Mohammed Saif.
About Dr Saif’s bail, Ranganath said that the police had received Dr Preethi’s post-mortem report in which forensic officials had confirmed suicide. “Preethi might have taken the extreme step after she was harassed by Saif. We will file a comprehensive chargesheet before the court of law within 10 days,” Ranganath said.
Saif was granted bail on a personal bond amount of Rs 10,000, with two people standing as surety.
“The accused upon release on bail shall not threaten family members of the deceased or any other witnesses in the case. In case of any violation of conditions, prosecution is at liberty to seek cancellation of bail,” the judge said.
Preethi allegedly attempted suicide on February 22, after being apparently harassed by Saif at the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) in the Warangal district of Telangana.
Saif was arrested on 23 February. Preethi died on February 26 at NIMS Hospital in Hyderabad.
While Preethi’s death was termed as ‘mysterious’, Dr Saif had been held responsible for harassing his junior and abetting her suicide, while she was discharging duty at the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital.
The NIMS Medical Superintendent, Dr Satyanarayana, released a statement “In continuation of health update of Dr Preethi, despite continuous efforts by Multidisciplinary team of Specialist Doctors, she could not be saved and declared Dead on 26/02/2023 at 09:10 pm.”
The Warangal police would also add the IPC Section 306 (abetment of suicide) charge against Dr Saif. Earlier, the police had registered cases under the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) and death under suspicious circumstances.
Notably, Saif was granted bail under Section 167 of CrPc as he completed 60 days in custody. He applied for bail after spending 55 days in judicial remand in Khammam jail.
Meanwhile, the police are yet to conclude how Preethi died, even as Warangal police commissioner A.V. Ranganath had recently stated that they would come to a decision based on Preethi’s post-mortem examination report.
Preethi’s family members expressed concern, questioning why the health department officials were not submitting the autopsy report to the police, even as two months have elapsed since her death.
Opposing bail to Dr Saif, Special Public Prosecutor (PP) Mokila Satyanarayana Goud argued that Preethi’s parents were waiting for justice.
