Indian doctor cleared of sexual assault charges

 
The jury at the Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday took 30 minutes after three day trail to acquit Kaivalya Desai, 61 of charges levelled against him by the patient.

The woman in her early 20s was suffering from depression, problems in her relationship and finding it difficult to care for her two young children at the time, the court heard. She was afraid that her partner was going to leave her.

She claimed that during a five-minute consultation, Desai had held her hand before stroking her arm in a sexual manner which made her feel “uncomfortable”. The woman claimed he had also brushed back her hair, asked her to “give me a hug” and squeezed her tightly.
Desai, who worked at Barnsley Hospital before becoming a general practitioner, said after the hearing: “I am delighted with the verdict.”

“In my 29 years of practice I have always sought to provide the best standard of care for my patients,” Desai from Dodworth, near Barnsley, earlier told the court. He often held his patients to comfort them as part of his “in-house help and counselling”.

It was on that basis he held the woman’s hand, gave her a tissue to wipe her eyes and put an arm around her shoulders. The woman ran from the health centre in tears and told her boyfriend, who called the police.