Doc, ward boy held for raping dengue patient

Ahmedabad Police on Friday arrested a doctor and a ward boy working at the Apollo Hospital in Gandhinagar for reportedly raping a dengue patient in the ICU earlier this week. The accused have been sent on a two-day judicial custody. According to the complaint filed before the police at Adalaj Police Station, a 22-year-old woman admitted to the hospital a few days ago for dengue treatment was raped reportedly by the doctor and a ward boy for two days.

The patient charged that she was first assaulted by doctor Ramesh Chauhan (28) on Sunday night in a section of the hospital where the visitors have restricted entry. Ward boy Chandrakant, stated to be doctor’s accomplice in the crime, too was arrested. The police had registered the complaint under Section 376 of the IPC.

The victim charged that she had been diagnosed with dengue and was shifted to ICU where her condition had worsened. As she was almost unconscious due to medication, she could not fight back when the doctor and the ward boy took advantage of her situation and raped her. A medical examination later confirmed that the young woman was raped. The hospital also provided the CCTV footage to aid the police in their investigation and suspended both the accused.

The police said the victim was drugged and could manage to reveal her plight much later by writing on a piece of paper before her uncle. The police also took her statement before the judicial magistrate. Later in their interrogation, it came to light that Dr Chauhan was a Pakistani citizen, with a medical degree from Karachi. He was working at the hospital since 2014 on the basis of a work permit obtained from the Medical Council of India.