Women commission ‘unsatisfied’ with report submitted by Internal Complaints Committee

On Tuesday, a doctor at the hospital was beaten up by a group of nurses, when one of them alleged that she was sexually harassed by him.




Unsatisfied with the report on the alleged sexual harassment by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the civil hospital, Panchkula, the Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) has asked for a further probe and a comprehensive report on the same, by Friday.

Vice chairperson of the commission, Preeti Bhardwaj talking about the report, told The Indian Express, “The report submitted was very short. It was an extremely inadequate report they had filed within an hour. We asked to submit a more comprehensive report with detailed accounts of what transpired, their observations and recommendations.”

On Tuesday, a doctor at the hospital was beaten up by a group of nurses, when one of them alleged that she was sexually harassed by him.

The incident had reportedly took place on the intervening night of July 11 and 12, when the accused doctor reached the covid ward drunk and tried to assault her.

The hospital authorities had soon formed an ICC to look into the matter and an FIR was also registered on Monday.

The HSCW, taking suo motu cognizance of the matter on Tuesday, had instructed the hospital’s PMO and the district CMO to prepare a report and present it to them.

The ICC hearing was held on Tuesday itself after which the hospital submitted a report to the HSCW by 5 pm the same day.

As per a senior official, the first report submitted by the hospital on account of alleged sexual harassment had only filed a brief paragraph which read, “Prima facie (the accused doctor) is guilty by the way of conduct and handling of the matter by him (the doctor).”

Material including a CCTV footage accessed by the hospital as well as the police department and the state commission purportedly shows the accused doctor fleeing the hospital premises as soon as the victim called for help.

“Even though his conduct proves him guilty, we cannot only go by it. He is a government official and a doctor. We need a comprehensive report of what actually the whole story is and what action may be taken against him,” said Preeti Bhardwaj.

Haryana nursing association meets HSCW

Meanwhile the nurses of both the civil hospital of Panchkula and the Haryana Nursing Association met HSCW officials to voice their concerns.

In a report submitted by the Haryana Nursing Association, the nurses have pointed out flaws in the system stating that even on Covid-19 duty, nurses have not been safe.

“We spend 24 hours of our days inside hospitals. Such incidents raise questions of safety and responsibility,” stated the letter.

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