THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A resident doctor, whose exorbitant dowry demands allegedly pushed his colleague to suicide, has landed behind bars. The accused, Dr E A Ruwise, attached to the orthopaedic department of the Government Medical College here, was also suspended from service hours after his arrest from a relative’s house in Kollam on Thursday. He was produced in court which sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody.
Police said the doctor was arrested on charges of abetting the suicide of fellow resident doctor Dr A J Shahna and also under sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act. More details of Shahana’s suicide note emerged on Thursday in which she reportedly wrote that huge dowry demands from Ruwise’s family was the reason for ending her life. The suicide note, scribbled on the back of an OP ticket, asked why Ruwise’s family needed so much money and whether love had no value.
The statements of Shahna’s family members and circumstantial evidence were against Ruwise, police said. Ruwise allegedly deleted the WhatsApp chats to Shahna in which the dowry demands were raised. Police have seized his phone to retrieve the messages that would be crucial in establishing his involvement in the episode.
“The marriage between Shahna and Ruwise had to be called off as her family could not arrange the huge dowry demanded,” DCP Nidhinraj P told reporters. According to Shahna’s family members, Ruwise’s family had demanded 150 sovereigns of gold (worth over `65 lakh), 15 acres of land and a BMW car. Shahna died by suicide by overdosing on anesthesia at her apartment near the Medical College on Monday. She was declared brought dead at the hospital. The police, that initially registered a case of unnatural death, added the abetment to suicide charge and sections under dowry prohibition act after Shahana’s family gave statements on Ruwise’s involvement in the episode.
If convicted, Dr E A Ruwise would lose his medical degree. Dr. Mohanan Kunnummal, Vice Chancellor of Kerala University of Health Sciences, said the university has the powers to revoke the MBBS degree. The students have submitted an affidavit to the varsity stating that degree shall be revoked if they are found to have accepted, given or encouraged dowry. The decision to include students under the Dowry Protection Act was to create awareness among students against dowry, he said.
It must be noted that S Kiran Kumar, a native of Kollam, was dismissed from government service in connection with the dowry death of Vismaya V Nair in 2021, even before the court conviction. He was also made ineligible for government jobs in future.