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GMCH doctor accused of sexual harassment arrested
Faces prison time of up to seven years for harassing two female colleagues at hospital
Dr Aniket Saini, a doctor at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, accused of sexually harassing his two female colleagues in drunken stupor, was arrested on Monday.
The accused is a senior resident with the hospital’s medicine department. On Sunday, police had booked him under Sections 354-A (sexual harassment) and 354-B (assault and use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of the victims.
If proven guilty, Section 354-A can invite imprisonment between one to three years, while 354-B entails a jail time of three to seven years. Police said the accused will be produced in court on Tuesday.
He had fled the hospital premises after authorities had approached the police.
APPEARS BEFORE HOSPITAL INQUIRY PANEL
According to sources at the hospital, on Monday, Dr Saini appeared before the inquiry committee, headed by Dr Harish Dasari, head of forensic medicine department, following which police were sounded, and he was picked up by cops around 5pm.
They said the doctor had rendered an apology before the inquiry committee constituted by the hospital director-cum-principal Dr BS Chavan.
“The hospital has not taken any decision on his suspension yet. We will look into it after police finish their inquiry,” a hospital spokesperson said.
ATTACKED COLLEAGUES IN OPD
On December 6, Dr Saini had allegedly entered the medicine OPD in a highly inebriated state, where the two women were on duty, police said.
There, Dr Saini hindered the doctors from working, and dragged one of them from the ICU to the duty room. He also hit the other female doctor and one Dr Aman Garg, and smashed a bowl kept in the room.
“He restrained one of the doctors by her arm and abused the trio all along. His misbehaviour left the victims extremely disturbed,” said a police official, privy to the matter.
HOSPITAL INFORMED POLICE
Following the incident, the two female doctors approached Dr Chavan the same day. On their complaint, Dr Chavan ordered an internal inquiry, which corroborated the victims’ complaint. The matter was then forwarded to the Sector 34 police station, where a case was registered on Sunday.
