Minister for Health Veena George has ordered a probe into the allegation that the death of a woman postgraduate doctor at Government Medical College Hospital here is connected to dowry.
The Minister, who is also in charge of Women and Child Development, on Wednesday directed Women and Child Development Director Haritha V. Kumar to conduct the investigation and submit a report.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Women’s Commission has called for a probe into reports that Shahna committed suicide owing to distress over dowry demands.
Commission chairperson P. Satheedevi and members V.R. Mahilamani and Elizabeth Mammen Mathai visited Shahna’s house at Venjaramoodu and interacted with her family. If dowry was sought, evidence to establish this should be collected and action taken. If the dowry demand drove Shahna to commit suicide, charges of abetment to suicide could be framed against the man involved and his family, the commission said.
Shahna A., 27, who was doing her Master’s in Surgery, was found dead in her apartment near Medical College Junction recently. She was to report for night duty but when she did not turn up, friends went looking for her.
The police said the statement of Shahna’s mother and sister had been taken, and an investigation under the Dowry Prohibition Act and charges of abetment to suicide was on.
