Delhi govt denies allegation of sexual assault of woman patient in hospital

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Amid allegations of a woman patient being sexually assaulted in a Delhi government hospital, an official on Thursday clarified that the 23-year-old patient who died a day earlier was not subjected to any physical or sexual assault.

The controversy over a woman patient’s death in GTB Hospital comes amid rumours that she died following an alleged sexual assault by a fellow patient, a claim dismissed by the Delhi government’s health department.

While there were unconfirmed reports of New Usmanpur police detaining a man from Kachchi Khajuri over the alleged assault, the Delhi government has denied any laxity in the patient’s security during treatment at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital (JPCH).

The Health Department’s statement said a medical examination of the victim/patient said that “no physical or sexual assault was found”.

The statement was issued with reference to an incident that occurred on June 23 at JPCH regarding the admission of a 23-year-old female patient, who subsequently passed away during treatment at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.

The Delhi government said, as per the report received from the Hospital, the patient was found lying in an unconscious state on June 21 in Sonia Vihar.

The patient was brought to JPCH by the Delhi Police and was given proper treatment. On June 22, the patient was moved from the Casualty Ward to the HDU (High Dependency Unit) Ward of JPCH, said the statement.

The patient reportedly went missing from the HDU Ward in the early hours of June 23 and was later found on the hospital premises in the afternoon, it said.

After treatment, the patient was referred from JPCH to GTB on June 23 evening with a diagnosis of suspected poisoning, and during treatment, she passed away on June 24 night, said the statement.

“A committee of senior doctors/officers was constituted on June 23 at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital to enquire into the matter. As per reports submitted by Medical Superintendent, JPCH, and revealed through medical examination of the victim/patient, no physical or sexual assault was found,” it said.

The Health Department said CCTV cameras were functional outside HDU in the Hospital, and as part of the enquiry into this incident, necessary CCTV footage has already been collected and handed over to the Investigation Officer, Delhi Police.

On the basis of the Committee findings and CCTV footage, the details of the on-duty nursing officer, sanitation staff and security guard were shared with the investigation officer on Wednesday, it said.

The Health Department statement said a post-mortem will be conducted at GTB Hospital after completing the necessary legal procedure by the Delhi Police.

As per details received from the GTB Hospital, the body of the deceased is presently preserved in the mortuary, and the close relatives/acquaintances are being traced, it said.

--IANS

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