A male COVID-19 patient admitted at a leading Mumbai Hospital has claimed that he was sexually assaulted by a doctor.
The police have not made an arrest in relation to the case. The accused doctor has been fired by the hospital administration.
The accused doctor had joined the hospital on April 30. The aggrieved patient was also admitted to the hospital on the same day.
According to the patient, the accused entered his room located in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and made physical advances towards him. The patient resisted the advances made by the accused and tried to raise an alarm.
When the accused left, the aggrieved patient told the hospital staff about the incident. The Human Resources (HR) Department of the hospital lodged a complaint with the police in regard to the incident.
A senior police officer privy to the investigation told The Times of India that since the doctor was in direct contact with the COVID-19 patient, he has been sent for home-quarantine for the next 2 weeks.
The home of the accused is located in Thane. The officer said that interrogation will be conducted when the accused returns after completing his quarantine.
The accused has been booked under section 377 (unnatural offences), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of diseases endangering life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease endangering life) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).