Gurugram Hospital Sexual Assault Case: Accused entered patient's cubicle thrice

Gurugram: In a shocking update in the air hostess sexual assault case at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, the accused ward staffer - an ICU equipment technician was reportedly addicted to porn as he watched porn videos before and after committing the crime.

Going through his browsing history during investigation, the police found evidence of him watching porn several times specifically before and after the incident. He has been sent to 14-day judicial custody.

The police team identified the accused after meticulously reviewing 800 CCTV footage from across the hospital premises. Among the CCTV footage reviewed, police found that the accused entered the patient’s cubicle three times on the day of the alleged incident, with one of the visits lasting as long as 17 minutes.

Also read- Gurugram Hospital technician arrested for sexual assault on patient

According to sources from The Indian Express, the accused allegedly inserted his fingers into the survivor’s private parts and, while she was semi-conscious, claimed he was merely checking her hospital wristband.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that a 25-year-old technician working at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram was arrested on Friday by the special investigation team constituted in this case. He allegedly carried out digital rape on a 46-year-old flight attendant in the ICU room of Medanta Hospital on April 6 and accordingly got suspended by the hospital authorities.

A 46-year-old trainee air hostess has lodged a police complaint alleging sexual assault by a ward staffer while she was on the ventilator in the ICU during treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. The woman stated in her complaint that although two nurses were present during the incident, they neither intervened nor helped her. She further alleged that she was in a weakened state, which left her unable to fight the ward staffer’s sexual assault.

Following this, police on Thursday set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case. Police Commissioner Vikas Kumar Arora constituted the seven-member SIT led by Dr Arpit Jain, DCP (headquarters), who is also an MBBS doctor. The other members in the SIT included two ACPs, two SHOs, an in-charge of the Sector 40 crime unit and the investigating officer of the case.

Police said that the accused had been working as a technician in the hospital for the last five months and has confessed to the crime. The accused was identified after police questioned hospital staff, including the doctors, and examined footage from 800 CCTV cameras, police told PTI.

How the accused was identified

Dr Arpit Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters), explained how the CCTV footage and the statements of the hospital staff helped them identify the accused. He told HT that during the course of the investigation, the team reviewed footage from more than 800 CCTV cameras installed throughout the hospital premises and questioned over 50 hospital staff members, such as doctors, nurses, and technicians.

"The probe was conducted from every possible angle, with timelines, duty rosters, and access logs carefully examined to identify inconsistencies and leads,” Dr Arpit Jain said.

Speaking to the Indian Express, he said, "We minutely examined footage from cameras in the common areas outside the cubicle where the survivor was, and those at the entry to her cubicle. Her cubicle, like the others, had two patients. We saw that the accused entered [the survivor’s cubicle] thrice on the date of the alleged crime — once for 17 minutes. Though his work does not need more than two minutes, he was inside for nearly half an hour. All this is seen clearly.”

On the survivor’s allegation that two nurses were present on duty in the cubicle during the crime, he said, “So far, what we have understood from them is that they were busy looking after two patients and were not aware of what was happening. When the accused was inside the cubicle at different points of time, at least one of the nurses, prima facie, was always inside the cubicle. At one point, one of them was there; at other times, along with the accused], both.”

Also read- Rape allegations rock Medanta: Patient Alleges Sexual Assault by Hospital Staff While on Ventilator