The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) nursing students and family members of the 21-year-old nursing student who committed suicide in her hostel room this past Sunday have demanded that the police register a First Information Report (FIR) in the case. Pallavi Grover took the extreme step due to alleged persistent harassment by the nursing hostel deputy superintendent.
The deceased’s brother Lucky told The Hindu on Saturday: “Today we went to the Hauz Khas police station requesting them to register an FIR. It has been over 120 hours since the incident, but the police have not been co-operative. They told us that action can now be taken only after the hospital submits its internal committee report on the incident,” he added.
Pallavi’s hostel-mates had found her hanging and alerted the hospital authorities, who then called the police and informed her parents about the incident. The police had confirmed that they found a note allegedly written by Pallavi claiming that no one was responsible for her death.
Expressing his suspicion about the authenticity of the suicide, her father Prem Grover said: “My daughter has been educated in an English medium school and was more comfortable speaking in English. Her note was in Hindi, which raises several questions and doubts. Pallavi, who was a third-year B.Sc nursing student, had complained about harassment by her warden, who constantly taunted her and even challenged her to clear her practical exam, which she had failed by three marks.”
The family is demanding that the warden’s service be terminated immediately and that she be arrested.
Meanwhile, her shocked classmates and other students have been protesting against inaction by the hospital authorities and the police.
AIIMS had earlier this week constituted a nine-member committee headed by Dean P.K. Jhulka to start an inquiry based on the complaints made by Pallavi’s family and fellow students that she was being harassed by a hostel official. The inquiry is expected to be completed soon.
