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The Hindu
The Hindu
National
The Hindu Bureau

MCH sexual assault survivor moves High Court

The survivor of the medical college ICU sexual assault case has approached the Kerala High Court demanding action against the principal, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, for reinstating five staff members, who had allegedly harassed her. She also demanded cancellation of bail granted to the five, besides the accused, Kuzhiparambath Saseendran.

This comes a day after she filed a separate complaint against the gynaecologist at the medical college who had collected evidence after she accused Saseendran of sexual assault. The survivor alleged that the said gynaecologist had twisted her statements in favour of the accused and had deliberately not included many parts of what she said in the report submitted to the police.

“I had explained the whole ordeal to the gynaecologist when I met her three days after the incident. But she reported that I did not say anything about serious sexual assault, and that there was no evidence of sexual assault on my body. I clearly remember the nurse who accompanied her pointing out bruises on my private parts to the doctor. But she conveniently omitted it from the report,” the survivor told The Hindu.

She could not file a complaint against the gynaecologist earlier as she had no access to the chargesheet submitted by the police. “I secured a copy of the chargesheet two days ago. That is when I understood what the gynaecologist had reported,” she added.

She has filed a complaint with the Medical College Principal, besides the District Police Chief (Kozhikode City). She also alleged that the police had tried to dissuade her from filing the complaint.

Meanwhile, she is to appear before the investigation team of the Health department on July 31.

The incident pertaining to the complaint took place on March 18, 2023. The survivor alleged that Saseendran had assaulted her in the ICU of the hospital when she was under sedation after a thyroid surgery. When she complained, five female members of the hospital staff tried to persuade her to retract her statement and later harassed her. While Saseendran was later dismissed from service, the five staff members who were initially suspended, were reinstated. However, the order was withdrawn later following public protest.

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