Man takes clothes off, attempts to molest doctor in Coimbatore hospital amid Kolkata protests

An attempt to molest a woman house surgeon was made by a 25-year-old man in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Wednesday, August 14, The Times of India (TOI) reported.

According to the report, the accused, identified as Mayank Galar of Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, was arrested.

Galar was booked under Section 74 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhit, which refers to assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intention to malign her modesty, punishable by a jail term of up from a year to five years, and Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.

The incident occurred when the house surgeon went to get her bike, parked near the CMCH dean’s office around 9 pm. The accused removed his pants and attempted to molest her, but the house surgeon pushed him back and ran to her hostel on the hospital premises. The accused fled the scene, but by the time other house surgeons called the security guards, who caught the accused at the casualty ward of the hospital at 1 am. They later handed him over to the police, the report said.

Based on a complaint by the resident medical officer of CMCH, an FIR was registered. Students held protests in front of the dean’s office. More than 150 house surgeons and postgraduate students participated. 

They demanded proper security and the deployment of a night patrol team in the hospital. CMCH dean Nirmala assured the students and the house surgeons that all their demands would be met.

"There is a CCTV camera where the incident occurred, but the camera is not working. Likewise, most of the surveillance cameras are not functioning on the campus. There are not enough restroom facilities for house surgeons at the workplace due to which we are forced to return to our hostel rooms," the TOI report said, quoting a house surgeon.

The incident comes amid the alleged rape and murder case in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, which has sparked nationwide outrage.