In a shocking incident, a hospital kept a 7-year-old sexual abuse victim waiting, who had come to get her medical tests done.
According to the Mid-Day, Cooper Hospital allegedly made a 7-year-old girl and her mother run from one department to the other and refused to conduct the test without the presence of a woman constable. The incident of sexual abuse had taken place in the Maldives. The victim, along with her 35-year-old mother, who earlier worked as a celebrity stylist, went to the Maldives for a five-day vacation.
While vacationing in Maldives, the mother-daughter duo decided to go for a jet-ski ride. As it was not possible for the two to ride a jet-ski together, the woman sent her daughter along with the driver while she waited at the beach.
But when the girl returned she looked very upset, which made her mother suspicious. When her mother further enquired, she revealed that the driver molested her. The driver of a jet-ski ride sexually abused the girl while she was riding with him. As per the protocol, the victim was supposed to undergo a medical examination in the Maldives but as they had to catch a flight to Mumbai the following morning, her mother decided to get the test done on returning. After returning to Mumbai, the girl's mother took her to Cooper Hospital for the examination but the hospital made them run from one department to the other and refused to conduct the test without the presence of a woman constable.
The woman told the Mid-Day, "First, they asked us to get an FIR registered at the nearest police station. This is after I showed them the complaint copy from the Maldives police. Then, they made us run from one department to another. When we reached the gynaecology department, they made us wait there for over 90 minutes. My child was already traumatised and had not slept the previous night. She was exhausted and despite repeated pleas, the doctor-in-charge told us, 'is sab mein time lagta hai (all this takes a lot of time)'." Even after waiting for a long time, the hospital did not inform the nearby police station, which is compulsory under the POCSO Act. Dr. Pinakin Gujjar, dean of Cooper Hospital, told the leading daily, "I will talk to the gynaecology department and look into the matter. This is a serious issue. I will not let it go off so easily."
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