Staff Report
LAHORE: The Women Police Station in Faisalabad has registered a case against five employees of the Children’s Hospital Faisalabad, including it’s deputy medical superintendent on charges of subjecting a female security guard to gang rape.
Allegations of Harassment and Assault
Submitting an application, the alleged victim, (N), said that due to financial hardship, she joined the duty of female security guard at the Children’s Hospital Faisalabad about 3 months ago. She alleged that a doctor of the dental ward asked the hospital security supervisor to put her in his ward.
Following the instructions of the accused doctor, she said that the security supervisor assigned her to the dental ward.
She said the accused doctor began to harass her, threatening that she would lose her job if she did not comply with him.
On December 25, she alleged that the doctor called her to his ward room, where he subjected her to rape and recorded a video.
“I reported this incident to the security supervisor (D), who told me to remain tight-lipped if I wanted to keep my job. Out of fear and humiliation, I stayed quiet. Taking advantage of my silence, the accused doctor exploited me multiple times.”
On January 8 last, I contacted the security supervisor again to inform him about these incidents. When I was recounting my ordeal to the security supervisor, another unidentified man was also present in the room.
She alleged that during their conversion, the supervisor instructed the unknown man to lock the door from the inside. Afterward, she claimed that both the security supervisor and the unknown man attacked her. She said the supervisor pulled her hair and slammed her head against the wall, causing bleeding.
Sensing the danger, the female guard said she called Rescue 15, and local authorities.
She alleged that the accused had subjected her to rape multiple times.
Case Registered, Investigation Underway
The police registered a case against the five accused–four named and one unidentified–under section 375-A of the PPC with no arrest.
The FIR does not mention the role of the deputy medical superintendent of the hospital or another supervisor. However, they have also been named in the case.
A police officer said that their roles would be determined during the investigation, and their names would be cleared if they are found innocent.
Calls for Stricter Security Measures
Ahsan Ali, a social activist, said that it’s a complete and utter failure of the hospital officials who couldn’t keep an eye on its own employees. The purpose of the security is to protect the visitors and the patients at the hospital. However, in this case, the situation is otherwise. The people who have been hired for the protection of others are personally insecure.
He said the government must review the security duty protocols of the Children’s Hospital Lahore, Children’s Hospital Multan and Children’s Hospital Karachi so that they can devise a strategy to prevent such incidents in the future.
