Hospital laboratory staff molests underage patient in Howrah, Bengal, arrested

A contract laboratory technician at Howrah District Hospital in West Bengal was arrested by police for allegedly molesting a minor patient on the hospital premises, officials said here on Sunday.

The incident occurred late Saturday evening and the accused was immediately arrested.

According to the hospital authorities, the victim was rushed to the hospital for a CT scan due to medical complications. She was taken to the hospital laboratory where she was allegedly abused by the accused technician.

After leaving the laboratory, she reported her ordeal to her relatives, who immediately informed the hospital administration, who in turn immediately informed the local police station.

According to police sources, the accused was taken into custody and his interrogation continued until Sunday morning. The hospital administration has stated that while the local police are conducting their own investigation, the hospital's internal complaints committee has also started its investigation into the matter.

In addition to investigating the incident, the internal committee is also looking into existing gaps in the hospital's security system and examining whether the abuse incident occurred.

The situation came to light at a time when nationwide protests were taking place against the gruesome rape and murder of a doctor on the premises of the state-run RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata last month.

The scars of the tragedy are still fresh, and the incident at Howrah General Hospital raises questions about security arrangements in the state's government hospitals.

In the Howrah District Hospital case, the accused was a contractual employee of the same organisation and in the RG Kar tragedy case, the only accused arrested was a volunteer, basically a contractual employee of the Calcutta Police.

Following the RG-Kar incident, several deficiencies in the internal security and surveillance system on the hospital premises came to light.

(With contributions from IANS)