Kerala Health Minister Veena George, on Friday, September 1, ordered an inquiry into the allegation of sexual harassment against a senior doctor at the Ernakulam General Hospital. The minister’s action is based on a woman doctor’s Facebook post detailing that she was harassed by the accused doctor back in 2019. Veena George has also directed the Health Department director to report the incident to the state police.
The woman doctor put up a Facebook post on August 28, alleging that the senior doctor sexually assaulted her in his private consultation room in February 2019. “During February 2019, I was an intern and had gone to him to make an official complaint against a senior consultant. Outside the hospital quarters, he physically assaulted me in his private consultation room. I went alone as it was 7 pm and I was getting ready to leave. He hugged and kissed me on my face, holding me close to him. I froze and pulled myself away. I complained to higher officials the next day. No action was taken initially. I was in the middle of my internship and didn’t make any further complaints as he was a senior and had the power to sabotage my internship certification process. I was scared,” she wrote.
She added that although his promotion was affected, no strict action was taken against him. “After 4yrs, in 2023, I received a message saying he had been transferred from GH EKM to another hospital. His promotion was affected, but no strict action was taken against him. It took me a lot of years to even talk about this issue openly. I want to expose the predator and make sure everyone knows about his antics. And the female doctors, including myself whom he abused, should receive justice. Such doctors are a disgrace to society and must not be allowed to practice. I’m hoping my post reaches the right people who will take stringent action against such perverts,” she noted.
The Ernakulam Central police had told Times of India that the survivor is living abroad and the police are trying to reach out to her to procure a formal complaint, based on which action will be initiated.