West Bengal: Lab Technician Molests Minor Girl at Howrah Hospital, Arrested
By : DC Web Desk
Update: 2024-09-02 10:36 GMT
A lab technician sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl who had been admitted to the hospital the previous week for pneumonia. The incident took place on Saturday evening at around 10 pm at Howrah district Headquarters Hospital.
According to Hospital officials, an FIR was filed and the accused was arrested.
As per ANI, the Superintendent of Howrah Government Hospital, Narayan Chattopadhyay, said, "An FIR has been registered at Howrah Police Station and the accused has been arrested. We have asked for an explanation from the private partner who conducted the CT scan on the victim. We will forward this to higher authorities and take appropriate action. The individual arrested was an employee of the private-public partner... We are providing security to the victim and her family. Repair work was being done in the CT scan room, which unexpectedly started in the evening. We were not aware of it."
She was being taken for a CT scan when, she sobbed as she left the department and asked a patient's relative for assistance, according to a report by India Today article.
A family member said that the child sobbed as she left the laboratory, and alleged that the lab technician had touched her "inappropriately and threatened her with severe consequences" if she told about it to anyone, according to PTI.
Hearing her cries, the girl's mother, who was waiting outside, rushed to her daughter's side and called the police right once.
Locals were outraged by the occurrence and protested at the hospital, with some even going so far as to try to approach and attack the accused, as the news of the incident spread quickly.
When the police arrived, they stepped in to protect the accused, Aman Raj, from the enraged crowd. After the girl's family filed a complaint, he was taken into custody, and the police said they are presently conducting an investigation.
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the CPI(M)'s youth wing, staged a protest at the hospital on Sunday and demanded the hospital superintendent's resignation.