Patient’s attendant rapes 13-year-old in Meerut government hospital

MEERUT: A 13-year-old girl undergoing treatment as an inpatient at the orthopaedics ward of a top govt hospital in Meerut was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 20-year-old man inside the women’s washroom around 1am Sunday.

The girl, a Dalit, being treated for knock knees, was accompanied by her mother at the facility’s general ward.Police said accused Rohit Kumar, an attendant of another patient, had followed the girl to the washroom and committed the crime. Her mother was asleep at the ward at the time. Kumar was held later in the day. Principal of the health facility said they have constituted a panel to probe the matter, and “will take strict measures to prevent such a crime in future.”SP (Meerut city) Ayush Vikram Singh said, “An FIR was registered against him under BNS section 65-1 (rape on a woman under 16 years of age) along with sections of Pocso Act and SC/ST Act following a written complaint by the survivor’s mother. The accused was presented before a court and incarcerated.”In the FIR, the complainant stated: “My daughter was admitted to the orthopaedics department on Friday. The horrific incident took place when she went to the washroom.

She then narrated her ordeal to me, and I approached the police...”The health facility had recently deployed ex-army jawans as part of the security paraphernalia. The health facility’s principal said, “We’ve deployed one guard — in three shifts — on each floor. But whoever comes to visit a patient here or for OPD, misbehaves if the security guards stop them. Thousands of people visit the hospital every day... We have 42 wards, and if we deploy guards at each of these wards in three shifts, the cost would be prohibitive.

”This is not the first time a security lapse has taken place at the hopsital. There have been instances of unauthorised entry into the campus, with the “culprits” allegedly consuming alcohol, engaging in brawls with senior doctors, and even misbehaving with female students.In the past, about 250 resident doctors had given a “mass resignation” demanding better security setup.