Beed: 20 Days On, Doctor Accused Of Molesting Patient Remains At Large

Beed: Public outrage boiled over in Kada town in Ashti tehsil on Saturday after police failed to arrest a private practitioner accused of molesting a 19-year-old patient inside his clinic nearly three weeks ago. Hundreds of agitated residents staged a 90-minute sit-in at the Kada police post and threatened an indefinite shutdown of the town if the accused is not taken into custody within four days.

According to police, the incident took place on August 30 at a private hospital in Kada. The 19-year-old victim, a prospective teacher, had visited the clinic for medical treatment. The accused, identified as Dr Mahendra Patwa, allegedly called her into his consultation cabin, locked the door from inside and molested her.

Following a complaint by the survivor, Ashti police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Dr Patwa under Sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75(1) (sexual harassment) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Following the alleged assault, the doctor reportedly sustained a fractured arm during an ensuing altercation and was admitted to a private hospital in Ahilyanagar for treatment. However, local residents grew restive over the police’s failure to arrest him even 20 days after the case was registered.

Between 10am and 11:30am on Saturday, an angry crowd gathered outside the Kada police post, staging a demonstration and demanding immediate action. Protesters submitted a memorandum to probationary Deputy Superintendent of Police Bharat Pandhare and Assistant Police Inspector Nana Suryawanshi, warning that the entire town would observe an indefinite bandh if Patwa was not arrested within four days.

Senior officers intervened to pacify the crowd and assured them that action would be taken. “Due legal procedures are underway, and the accused will be placed under arrest within the next four to five days,” probationary Deputy Superintendent of Police Pandhare said.

Following the assurance, the demonstrators dispersed. Heavy police deployment, led by API Suryawanshi, along with police personnel and Home Guards, was stationed across the area to prevent any law-and-order disruption.