Bhopal doctor attacks friend who broke up with him, attempts suicide

A 26-year-old doctor posted at a private hospital allegedly shot a postgraduate medical student and her cousin with a handheld airgun on Tuesday evening in Bhopal’s Gandhinagar area before attempting suicide, police said on Wednesday.

The three are currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Gandhinagar Station House Officer (SHO) Sunil Chaturvedi said a case of attempt to murder has been registered against Dr Naveen Ruhela, a resident of Rajgarh.

Chaturvedi said Ruhela and Shweta Thakur, 25, had been in a relationship for about 18 months, and the two had broken up a few months ago. “Ruhela was upset over the separation and had been threatening the woman,” he said.

Thakur, who had gone home to meet her family in Gujarat, returned to Bhopal with her cousin Ashutosh Thakur on Monday.

When Ruhela, who lived in the same residential complex, learnt that she was back, he went to her house at about 11 pm on Tuesday. “An argument ensued, during which Ruhela shot Thakur in the head with the airgun and her cousin in the chest and abdomen,” the SHO added.

Ruhela returned to his apartment and attempted to hang himself, but his friends intervened soon after and rushed him to the hospital.

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