Murder is being portrayed as suicide, claims Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Dr Preethi suicide

Bandi Sanjay Kumar meeting Dr Preethi's family. (Supplied)

Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday, 5 March, said that Dr Dharawat Preethi’s death was not a suicide but murder.

“Murder is being portrayed as suicide. All evidence was destroyed. How can a mobile phone with lock be opened ? Government is acting in favor of accused. They fear that accused will cause communal riots. Her family members are clear that Dr.Preethi’s was murdered & didn’t commit suicide [sic],” said Bandi Sanjay on Twitter after meeting Preethi’s family.

Murder is being portrayed as suicide. All evidence was destroyed. How can a mobile phone with lock be opened ? Govt is acting in favor of accused. They fear that accused will cause communal riots. Her family members are clear that Dr.Preethi's was murdered & didn't commit suicide

— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@bandisanjay_bjp) March 5, 2023

Preethi attempted suicide on Wednesday, 22 February, allegedly after being harassed by one of her seniors, a male doctor, at the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) in the Warangal district of Telangana.

She was found unconscious by the staff and doctors and given initial treatment there, they said.

The first-year junior postgraduate doctor at KMC died on 26 February.

Related: Sanjay or Saif, culprits won’t be spared: KTR on Dr Preethi suicide

Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday met Preethi’s family at Girni Thanda in the Jangaon district of Telangana.

“One thing is certain. She wouldn’t have committed suicide. If the BRS government is sincere, [it should] conduct an inquiry through a sitting judge into the case,” he said after the meeting.

He also said that the BRS was siding with Dr SA Saif — the senior accused of harassing Preethi — and threatening her family.

“Preethi would be alive if her complaint had been investigated quickly. Fearing that students and political leaders would react, her corpse was given treatment at NIMS. KCR resorts to dead-body politics,” claimed Bandi Sanjay.

He further said that the arrogance of Telangana minister KT Rama Rao was clear from the fact that he was terming the incident a “small issue”.

“Is the Home Minister even there for the state or limited to the old city?” said Sanjay in a barb at Md. Mahmood Ali.

“The police have not revealed the full facts of how Preethi died. Was the phone unlocked by fingerprints of the body? This is pure evil,” he claimed.

Related: Family living in fear, says father of Dr Saif

Bullying led to suicide?

Warangal Commissioner of Police (CP) AV Ranganath told reporters that there was apparently a targeted harassment of Preethi by Saif, which could have driven her to attempt suicide.

Hours after arresting Saif, the officer said he was booked for the woman’s attempted suicide.

The police also invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Anti-Ragging Act against the accused.

“It is clear that there was targeted harassment of this girl by Saif. He was making remarks to insult her in a WhatsApp group,” said Ranganath.

The police have retrieved the data from the WhatsApp groups of first and second-year MD students of anaesthesia.

After Saif made a remark in the group about a case sheet on 18 February, Preethi sent him a personal message objecting to it. She reportedly told other students that Saif had said that “You don’t have brains”.

Stating that the medical college had a culture where junior students had to address their seniors as “sir”, the police official said Saif probably did not like the woman questioning him.

The suicide bid took a communal hue on Friday as Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar termed it a case of “Love Jihad”.

Several doctors’ associations decried Kumar’s statement and said politicians were trying to win brownie points before the year-end polls.

Also read: PG doctors in Telangana speak out about the junior-senior relationship