Vasai Hospital anaesthetist arrested for sexual harassment of female doctor

A 54-year-old anaesthetist has been arrested for making sexual advances and molesting his female doctor at a well-known hospital in Vasai.

A source at the hospital told Mid-Day that the accused doctor is a qualified intensivist. “He is MD in Intensive Care,” said a highly placed source at the hospital.

The survivor has alleged that the accused doctor would switch off the CCTV cameras at the hospital before making sexual advances and molesting her. According to the complainant’s statement to police, the accused had been sexually harassing her for the last two years. 

She claims that the accused, a fellow senior male doctor, regularly demanded sexual favours in exchange for promising better career prospects.

The complainant, a 35-year-old female doctor, has been employed at the same hospital for the last few years.

“According to her statement, the accused would use their position of power and influence within the hospital to coerce or pressure her into complying with these demands, insinuating that her career advancement—such as promotions, opportunities for research, or better job assignments—depended on her acquiescence,” zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Pournima Chougule-Shringi told Mid-Day.  

The complainant told police that his repeated sexual advances and offers were made under the guise of professional or career-related incentives, creating a hostile and manipulative work environment.

“Though she had made an internal complaint at the hospital in January, she did not get a satisfactory response. So, she approached us and we immediately registered a molestation case against the male doctor at Vasaigaon police station on Monday and arrested the accused,” the DCP Pournima added.

“The police said that the survivor had been tolerating the sexual harassment for the last two years,” she said.

The accused is in police custody for further investigation.