E-Paper
Pregnant woman alleges sexual harassment by Pune doctor
Nibannawar is a native of Dharwad in Karnataka and the complainant is a housewife whose husband works as a security guard
The Pimpri police, on Monday, booked a doctor from DY Patil Hospital for allegedly sexually harassing a pregnant 20-year-old patient. The doctor, a gynaecologist, has been identified as Harshal Basavraj Nibannawar, according to the police.
Dr Pramod Patil, dean, DY Patil hospital, refused to comment despite repeated attempts at contacting him.
According to the complainant, the doctor touched her inappropriately while she was undergoing treatment at the hospital at 2.30 pm on June 23.
Nibannawar is a native of Dharwad in Karnataka and the complainant is a housewife whose husband works as a security guard. She was in the hospital with her husband and two other relatives, according to the police.
The woman in her complaint alleged that Nibannawar touched her private parts and asked her if she felt like urinating. She also said that the doctor asked her to get admitted for four days at the hospital, regardless of whether she feels better or not.
“She had visited the hospital for treatment as she had a fall on her stomach which caused immense pain. She is four-month pregnant. The hospital authorities said that there were female staff members available, but the complainant states that there was nobody besides the doctor with her,” said sub-inspector Haridas Bochare of Pimpri police station who is investigating the case.
Bochare said, “When she left the room, she told the relatives what had happened and they fought with the hospital staff. Later, the senior doctors completed her treatment. Post that, the relatives decided to lodge a complaint. We are currently recording statements from the accused doctor and the hospital staff who were on duty at that time.”
There are no eye-witnesses to the case, the police said. A case under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of Indian Penal Code was registered against Nibannawar at Pimpri police station.
