Nanavati Hospital consultant booked for sexually harassing resident doctor

The 27-year-old complainant submitted a written application about the harassment, saying she had also written an email to the hospital authorities, formally apprising them about the situation

Mumbai: The police on Wednesday night booked the clinical consultant from Nanavati Max Super Specialty Hospital, Vile Parle, after a resident doctor alleged that she was sexually harassed in her workplace.

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The 27-year-old complainant submitted a written application about the harassment, saying she had also written an email to the hospital authorities, formally apprising them about the situation. The resident doctor, who is attached to the hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology department, said the alleged sexual harassment began within a month of her joining the institute in June 2022.

“It began with him inappropriately touching my upper body parts, pulling me towards himself to try and hug me,” she said in her complaint. “I tried to stop him many times, but his advances did not stop.”

When the resident doctor apprised her senior consultant about it, the latter, instead of acting against the clinical consultant or reprimanding him for his actions, asked her to ignore him and not complain further, she alleged. “My senior consultant said that I should not report it to the higher-ups as it would spoil my career,” she added. “She said he was married, and my complaint would affect his career and personal life as well. I was forced to keep quiet.”

In her statement to the police, the doctor also mentioned another female clinical consultant who allegedly ragged her after she confided in her about the sexual harassment. “This woman started ragging me. She brought up my lower-caste status repeatedly during conversations and made me do her personal work. They ganged up on me to pressurise me into silence.”

The resident doctor alleged that the HR head threatened her with dire consequences if she did not take the complaint back, which forced her to approach the police. “The HR head is now threatening to destroy my career,” she added. “He warned me to withdraw all my complaints or face the consequences.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the hospital has earlier said that the hospital administration received a complaint of misbehaviour and harassment from one of their resident doctors against another colleague late last week.

“Taking note of the severity of the allegations, we immediately convened a meeting of the Internal Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act), as well as an Anti-Ragging Committee. However, the aforesaid resident doctor did not participate in the proceedings. We will fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as and when an investigation gets underway,” he said.

Krishnakant Upadhyay, deputy commissioner of police for Zone 9 confirmed that an FIR has been registered in the Santacruz police station and said, “Further investigation in the matter is underway.” The accused has been booked under section 354 (assaulting or using criminal force against a woman, intending to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.