Ward boy rapes 6-year-old girl at Thane hospital, arrested

The child’s mother had delivered a baby two days ago and was admitted in the hospital’s maternity ward.

A six-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a ward boy at Thane Civil Hospital on Thursday. The accused Harish Narwar, 52, has been arrested by the Thane Nagar police station.

The incident took place on Thursday.

The incident took place on Thursday evening, when the child had come to visit her mother, who had delivered a baby just two days ago and was admitted in the hospital’s maternity ward.

Narwar allegedly took the girl with him, while her mother was unaware, to an isolated section of the hospital. The child’s father was not in the hospital at the time of the incident.

“The accused took the girl to the labour ward, which is an isolated place and raped her. Then he took her back to her mother’s ward. She complained to her father later, and he filed a complaint against the accused,” said MV Dharmadhikari, senior police inspector, Thane Nagar police station.

A case has been registered under section 376 (2) of the Indian Panel Code, and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The accused is to be produced in court on Friday, Dharmadhikari said.

When contacted, Dr Sangeeta Makode, additional civil surgeon of Thane Civil Hospital, said she was busy in a meeting and would comment on the incident later.