A 40-year-old woman was attacked and grievously injured when she resisted a rape attempt by an unidentified man, at the Purnia district hospital premises on Monday evening. The woman, whose son is recuperating at the burn ward of the hospital, was attacked when she went to relieve herself in the open as the hospital’s toilets were extremely dirty.
A resident of Saharsa, the woman had come to the hospital to get her son treated. “Our son sustained burn injuries and has been undergoing treatment since May 16. My wife came to the hospital on May 22,” the woman’s husband, a daily wage labourer, said.
The police said the accused, who is still absconding, pounced on the woman with an intention to outrage her modesty. When the woman resisted, he attacked her private parts with a sharp weapon.
Hearing the woman’s cries, another woman who had accompanied her, raised an alarm that drew the attention of several other attendants. They took her to the emergency ward where the doctors admitted her for treatment. A doctor treating the woman said that the survivor’s condition is critical. “She needed several stitches as the injuries were caused by a sharp edged weapon.”
Hospital authorities said that they wasted no time informing the police who rushed to the hospital and started a probe by scrutinising CCTV footage of the hospital. An FIR was lodged on basis of the survivor’s statement.
“Police are probing the matter from various angles and soon the man would be arrested,” said Vivekanand Singh, station house officer (SHO) of Town police station.
The incident has spread panic among women who stay overnight at the hospital attending patients. They have collectively demanded adequate security to prevent repeat of such incidents.
A woman attendant said that she was also attacked by a man who attempted to rape her but somehow managed to escape. She alleged that several outsiders move around suspiciously in the hospital premises. “Some of them even extort money from us for medicines, berths and other facilities, which are free for patients.”
“The hospital has turned into a bastion of thieves and anti-social elements. They target people during night or in the wee hours when patients and their attendants are asleep.” Many attendants have complained of theft of their cellphones and wallets.
In November last year thieves had stolen at least a dozen cellphones from various wards.
“The attendants and patients who come here for treatment don’t cooperate with sanitary workers and litter the restrooms. Many of them also don’t want to use toilets and instead prefer to go out in the open relieve themselves. Given the length and breadth of the hospital, we need more security ,” said Dr Madhusudhan Prasad, civil surgeon at the Purnia district hospital.
“We have written to the higher authorities about this problem,” Prasad said, hoping that more security personnel would be deployed in the hospital soon.
The Purnia district hospital is being upgraded into a medical College and hospital.On February 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of a 500-bed hospital with a medical college. It will have five ICUs, modern diagnostic centres with ultra-modern operation theatres. The Purnia district hospital is the oldest and the biggest government hospital in north Bihar.
However, incidents of rape, attack on female attendants, thefts and burglaries in the hospital premises have resulted in the hospital being in news for wrong reasons.
First Published:
May 30, 2019 10:07 IST
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