Jharkhand Covid ward doctor accuses senior colleague of rape attempt, police in a fix

A senior doctor of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi has been accused of attempting to rape a junior colleague currently serving in the Covid ward of the hospital, police said on Friday.

The police, however, are in a catch-22 situation over the possible arrest of the senior doctor, since he went into quarantine for 14 days the morning after the alleged incident.

Officer-in-charge of Bariatu police station, Sapan Mahta said, “The lady doctor in her statement said that they were on duty in Covid ward on Wednesday night. After the duty hours, the senior doctor came to her room and switched off lights and attempted to sexually assault her. The incident took place on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday as per the statement of the lady doctor.”

Mahta said the senior doctor has been booked under sections 376 (rape) and 511 (attempt to commit an offence) of the IPC. “We have recorded the statement of the victim. Now, her statement will be recorded before a magistrate,” he said.

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Mahta, however, said the police was in a fix over taking immediate action against the doctor as he is in quarantine. “The doctor went into quarantine on Thursday morning after the alleged incident on Wednesday night. We are trying to solve this issue technically,” he said.

A senior official at RIMS said the doctors who serve in the Covid ward for a week are sent to quarantine for 14 days as preventive measure. The senior doctor in question is right now serving quarantine at a city hotel.

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Meanwhile, Junior Doctors’ Association, RIMS, has demanded speedy action into the case. “We want fair inquiry into the case and the victim should get justice at the earliest,” said the association president Dr Ajit Kumar.