14-Year-Old Sexually Assaulted by Former Staff Member at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata: Safety Concerns Rise

Kolkata:

A 14-year-old girl was reportedly sexually assaulted within the premises of Kolkata's government-operated SSKM Hospital, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

Police have apprehended Amit Mallick, a former ward attendant at the facility, during an operation in Dhapa on Wednesday evening. Officials have filed charges against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

"After receiving verbal notification about the incident, officers from Bhowanipore police station immediately contacted the victim to document her statement," a police representative informed NDTV.

Law enforcement officials at Bhawanipore station registered a formal FIR under POCSO regulations based on the signed testimony provided by the teenage victim, according to police documentation.

The family's complaint details that the assault occurred after the accused persuaded the girl to follow him to a toilet facility while her parents were occupied at the Outpatient Department (OPD) registration counter.

This distressing event follows closely after another incident at Uluberia hospital in Howrah district, where relatives of a patient allegedly attacked a female doctor and threatened her with sexual violence. Three individuals were subsequently detained in connection with that case.

In 2023, the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-administered RG Kar Medical College and Hospital sparked widespread demonstrations throughout West Bengal and across India.