Mumbai gang-rape: Like Bangali, others use city hospitals for refuge

The arrest of gang-rape accused Mohamed Kasim Hafiz Sheikh, 21, from Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central, where he was found sleeping in the patients’ waiting area, has not surprised doctors one bit.

The arrest of gang-rape accused Mohamed Kasim Hafiz Sheikh, 21, from Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central, where he was found sleeping in the patients’ waiting area, has not surprised doctors one bit.

They say the city’s public hospitals are a haven for such miscreants.

The four major hospitals — KEM, Nair, Sion and JJ Hospital — have more than a thousand patients - admitted in their wards, and on any given day there could be as many as 40 to 60 loiterers, sources said.

Security officials said beggars, robbers, drug addicts and construction site workers often use the corridors to sleep and rest, and also use the hospitals’ washrooms. When questioned, they claim to be relatives of patients admitted there.

“With every patient admitted, we see at least two relatives accompanying them. In such scenario, it is impossible to identify those who are posing as relatives,” said a senior security officer at a civic hospital.

Dr M Shah, deputy dean, Nair hospital in Mumbai Central, said, “For public hospitals like ours we cannot have military-type security.”