AIIMS Rishikesh: Doctors hold protest against sexual harassment of woman doctor; police assure strict action

Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) [India], May 23 : After a woman doctor was allegedly sexually harassed by a nursing officer in AIIMS, Rishikesh, doctors held a protest and demanded that strict legal action should be taken against the accused.
The Uttarakhand Police drove an SUV into the hospital's waiting area of AIIMS-Rishikesh to arrest the accused for molesting the female doctor on May 19. A video of the incident went viral on social media.
Today, Ajay Singh, SSP Dehradun and the Director of Rishikesh AIIMS Hospital, Meenu Singh together inspected the incident and took stock of the situation.
SSP Ajay Singh told ANI, "On May 19, a case of sexual harassment was reported against a nursing officer. He was also suspended on May 20. The same day a mob surrounded the ward where he was admitted. There was a lot of sloganeering going on after which the police were called. When the police arrived here, the doctors were very angry. That ramp was used for his safe passage so that no incident like mob lynching could happen."
"Since there was a lot of crowd, there was a waiting area from where he was taken out and no one got injured in it. The area from which the vehicle went was not a ward but a waiting area. Considering everything, the decision taken on the spot was right," he added.
The SSP further mentioned that they will try to get the charge sheet filed soon but a process of legal action is underway.
"We will try to make the situation normal as soon as possible," SSP Ajay Singh said.
SSP Ajay Singh also mentioned that a SIT will be formed for this entire matter in which a woman officer will also be included.
AIIMS Rishikesh director Meenu Singh said that the accused admitted himself to the ward on the pretext that has a psychological disorder.
"A man has tried to molest a lady doctor. The person was admitted to the psychiatric ward due to having a psychological disorder. There was misbehaviour with a female doctor in the operation theatre, for which the doctor wanted that the nursing officer should be punished as soon as possible. Due to the huge crowd, the police took the vehicle through the ramp to the area," she said.
She further added that the accused was brought down in an open area so that protesting doctors could not harm him.
"He was taken to the open area and brought down. So that no incident happens to him. How he was taken was a kind of emergency and no one was injured. That is a triage area where the patient comes and is evaluated. The accused is a nursing officer and his misbehavior that day is recorded. Doctors are not satisfied with the action because there is no immediate arrest under the sections imposed on the accused. SSP came here and has formed a SIT on the case which will do a complete investigation," the director of AIIMS said.
"The nursing officer has been suspended by us," she added further.
One of the protesting doctors, Jhilmil told ANI that it took 12 hours for the police to file an FIR.
"A nursing officer molested a lady doctor during a procedure in the operation theatre on Sunday evening. This case was reported immediately but it took 72 hours for the statement of a supervisor to come. FIR also could not be filed for 12 hours. He was released afterwards. It is only suspension and not termination. We are demanding that he should be given the harshest punishment as soon as possible," she said.
"Our demands should also be fulfilled so that such incidents do not happen with any female staff doctor or other employees in future. The accused was admitted to the ward by false pretext. The police vehicle came through the ramp to arrest him," Dr Jhilmila added.