A man has been booked for allegedly misbehaving with a female doctor at a government health facility in a village in Kerala's Kottayam district after she stepped out to have a meal, police said on Monday, as reported by the news agency PTI. The incident was reported from Velloor on October 21, they said.
The accused was identified as Shahim and a case was registered against him on the basis of a complaint filed by doctor Sreeja Raj (37). According to PTI, a case under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code including sections 341 (wrongful restraint) 294 B (usage of obscene words) and 353 (deter public servant from discharge of his duty) was registered along with the provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act.
The accused is a local leader of the CPI(M), the news agency reported, citing sources. As per the FIR, the accused stopped the doctor on October 21 while she was leaving the treatment room at around 2.30 pm and verbally abused her, after which she fell unconscious. The doctor, who was working since early morning, stepped out to grab a quick meal. However, the patients, including the accused, protested and argued with her, following which she became unconscious.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMOA) has requested the government to take steps to end the shortage of staff at the hospitals and increase the doctor-patient ratio. In a statement on Sunday, KGMOA termed as 'unfortunate' the incident that occurred at the hospital.
"In order to prevent the recurrence of such humiliating incidents, the development of health facilities should not be limited to the development of physical conditions alone. There should also be timely reforms in human resources, taking into account the increasing number of patients," KGMOA said, as quoted by PTI.
The association said the doctors are working under heavy pressure due to limited human resources at the hospitals. "Even though there are around 80,000 doctors in Kerala, only 6,165 doctor posts are available in the health department. In recent times, the number of people approaching the government medical sector has increased a lot.
"At least 50 per cent of the people depend on government hospitals for treatment in Kerala," KGMOA said. In order to follow the World Health Organisation's recommended doctor-to-population ratio of 1:1,000, Kerala requires the service of 17,665 more doctors, it added.
Man Held For 'Sexually Assaulting' Elderly Woman With Disability In Kerala
A man was arrested on Monday for allegedly sexually assaulting an 80-year-old differently-abled woman in this district a few days ago, news agency PTI reported, citing police. The incident occurred on October 20, when the victim was found injured in an isolated area in Kottiyam, they said.
The accused was identified as Rashid (33) a resident of Velinellur in Kerala. He was taken into custody on Sunday night, and his arrest was recorded today. He allegedly sexually assaulted the octogenarian while she was sleeping in her shop in Kottiyam. "Locals saw her in the morning, informed her family, and took her to the hospital. The family filed a complaint with the police as well. The accused was caught on Sunday after verifying CCTV footage in the vicinity," police said, as quoted by PTI.