BMC's POSH committee finds Nair Hospital Associate Prof guilty of sexually harassing MBBS medico

Mumbai: An associate professor of BYL Nair Hospital has been found guilty after a sexual harassment allegations complaint filed by a MBBS student who is also a athlete were proven true. The BMC-run Local Complaints Committee (LCC) - BMC's Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) committee which investigated the sexual harassment complaint issued a series of recommendations including the immediate transfer of the professor until the student finishes her studies.

It had given the hospital 15 days to confirm that the recommendations had been implemented. LCC is a key component of the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 which addresses the issue of sexual harassment of women in workplaces and is a forum for the redressal of such complaints. 

The incident reportedly occurred when the student was summoned twice to the associate professor’s cabin under the pretext of discussing her sports activities. During these encounters, the professor allegedly touched her inappropriately, claiming it was part of a medical examination. He then asked her to take off her apron, placed a hand on her shoulder, and talked about the colour of her lips. The student also reported that he made inappropriate comments, which left her feeling uncomfortable.  

Initially, she approached an assistant professor for help, but when no action was taken, she escalated the matter to the hospital’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). Dissatisfied with their response, the student took her complaint to the LCC.

Following an investigation, the LCC found 'Truth' in the student’s allegations and issued a series of recommendations. In a confidential report submitted on September 5, the LCC advised the hospital to immediately transfer the associate professor to prevent any further interaction with the complainant. It also directed that the accused should not be allowed to serve as an examiner in any of her assessments. 

In addition to this, the committee has also mandated that the professor’s next payable salary increment be held off for a year and a formal written warning be given to him. These decisions were taken in a meeting held on Aug 26 but were conveyed in writing to all the parties concerned on Monday.

Another associate professor, to whom the student first approached for help but received none will receive a warning letter and has been ordered to undergo counselling by the committee. 

The LCC’s investigation also revealed delays in the hospital’s response to the case as the hospital’s dean, Dr Sudhir Medhekar, has come under scrutiny for the slow pace of action. It found that the two accused professors were removed from academic duties and reassigned to administrative roles.

In response, Dr Sudhir Medhekar told HT, "I received the information about the sexual harassment case from the internal complaints committee on April 12 and made sure to take all the steps required. By the first week of June, I made sure to take the professor off all academic activities. The case was later moved to the LCC.”

Dr Medhekar said "I had implemented everything as directed by the LCC in its confidential report except the transfer of the associate professor. The transfer procedures are done by the administration."

Further, he told TOI, "I spoke with the student's parents in June and shared the phone numbers of senior staffers, including mine in case they needed any assistance. The dean is not the appointing or transferring authority. I will forward the committee report to the higher authorities for action. However, as soon as the complaint was made, the accused was removed from teaching assignments and put on administrative duty."

As per TOI, The committee stated that the attitude of the hospital towards the case was 'unfortunate and insensitive' following which they have decided to issue a written warning to the hospital. The committee's report said the hospital authorities obstructed the implementation of the law and did not help in the proceedings of the case.

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