A senior medical officer at Bengaluru’s KC General Hospital allegedly attempted to molest a medical student interning at the hospital.
The government-run hospital has allegedly let off the Dr Mohan after he submitted a written apology without constituting a committee to probe the matter.
According to Dr Ravi Kumar, the Medical Superintendent of KC General Hospital, the incident occurred on September 23.
Dr Mohan, who was in-charge of the casualty department, allegedly called the intern to his cabin at around 2am saying he wanted to brief her about an assignment.
He allegedly locked the door to his cabin and touched her inappropriately by saying he wanted to check her heart rate. The intern immediately ran out of the room and raised an alarm.
The woman, who is studying medicine at a government college in the city, informed the hospital authorities of Dr Mohan’s behaviour immediately.
“As soon as I received information about the incident, a notice was issued to the doctor in question. He submitted a written apology to the girl,” Dr Ravi Kumar told TNM.
According to sources, Dr Mohan allegedly tried getting in touch with the victim and asked her to refrain from filing a complaint.
Sources said that the hospital authorities warned her against filing a police complaint by threatening to ruin her career by lowering her internship grades.
Dr Ravi, however, denied the claim that the girl was threatened and said that the hospital had not pressurised the girl and that they did not want to hush up the case.
According to the NGO National Federation of Indian Women, the hospital did not have an Internal Complaints Committee to look into sexual harassment complaints.
However, Dr Ravi said that the complaint has been forwarded to concerned authorities.
The intern is waiting for the hospital to take action against Dr Mohan. She will file a complaint with the police if the hospital authorities fail to take action.
Jyothi A, state president of NFIW said that the NGO will work to help the victim. She said that sexual harassment at the workplace cannot be treated lightly.
“Every employer must ensure that the workplace is safe for women, be it a multinational company, educational institute or a hospital. The hospital is accountable. It has not constituted an Internal Complaints Committee as per the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013,” she added.
The NGO has urged the concerned authorities in the state government to intervene and take action against the doctor.