Two male employees allegedly attempted to rape a woman worker at Sakra World Hospital on Marathahalli Ring Road in Bengaluru on Monday morning.
The 20-year-old woman who works as a patient care assistant, was allegedly locked in an operation theatre by two men identified as Mainu Islam and Shaabuddin, reported Bangalore Mirror.
The accused allegedly called her inside the OT asking her to clean it. But as she walked in, they latched the door and tried to grab her. However, as they could not get her to stop screaming, they hurriedly unlocked the door and she managed to flee.
The hospital authorities failed to inform the police immediately, reported BM.
A case of sexual harassment was registered against the two accused who were arrested by HAL police in the evening.
The accused and the victim were subjected to medical examination. Police said that there were no external injuries on the victim, who had come to Bengaluru a month ago from her hometown near Kolar.
Deputy Commissioner of police (South East) Dr M B Boralingaiah said, "We have registered a case and secured both the accused. This is a serious matter indeed and further investigations are on."
A senior investigating office said he would issue Sakra World Hospital a warning as they delayed reporting the matter to the police.
"They cannot take the safety of their employees and patients for granted. The fact that this has happened inside an operating theatre is shocking. The victim was also scared of losing her job, but the hospital should in fact be more sympathetic towards her," the officer added.
A spokesperson for the hospital admitted that the incident took place inside the hospital premises.
The hospital however, washed its hands of the incident by claiming that the accused as well as the victim were outsourced from a housekeeping agency, Adityavani Facility Services Private Limited located in III Block HRBR Layout.
"All three came into work around 3 am on Monday and the two men began misbehaving with the woman. When the hospital got wind of the incident, all three were handed over to their employer, so we do not have anything to do with this. Subsequently, the employer handed the men over to the police," the spokesperson claimed.
Bangalore Mirror quoted the owner of Adityavani Facility Services, Jaisimha Chandra, as saying that it was a "small issue".
“It was an internal fight between the three about who should have started cleaning first. There is nothing more to it; I strongly recommend you do not publish this for publicity," Chandra said.