A 13-year-old Dalit girl, who was undergoing a knee surgery at an orthopaedic department in the Meerut government hospital in Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly raped by an attendant of another patient.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, June 20. The teenager, accompanied by her mother, was admitted to the general ward for the surgery.
According to the police complaint filed by her mother, the accused, Rohit Kumar, 20, followed her daughter to the washroom and committed the crime. He threatened to kill the minor if she told anyone of the incident.
“Rohit Kumar hails from Kashipur district in Uttarakhand. He was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), the Sc/St (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and section 65 (1) (rape) of the BNS. He was produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody,” informed Meerut superintendent of police (SP), Ayush Vikram Singh.
Following the incident, the hospital authorities set up a panel to investigate the matter and prevent such crimes in the future.
However, in a blatant display of apathy, a top health official casually remarked on the hospital’s security. “Thousands of people visit the hospital every day. We have 42 wards. It is expensive to deploy guards at each of these wards in three shifts,” local media reports quoted the official.
Notably, the hospital has employed retired Army personnel as part of its security system.
The hospital has a history of unauthorised entries, consumption of alcohol on premises, and even brawls with senior doctors. At one point, 250 doctors had threatened mass resignation, protesting for better security, the Times of India reported.
