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Mumbai: A senior doctor at the BMC-run KEM Hospital in Parel has been placed under suspension after six women doctors filed a complaint of sexual harassment against him. Dr Ravindra Deokar, a professor in the forensic medicine and toxicology department, has now been barred from attending work or taking up any work linked to his profession privately.
The Bhoiwada police station, where the six doctors filed an FIR on April 12 detailing multiple instances of inappropriate sexual conduct, have pasted a notice on the door of the doctor’s residence inside KEM campus asking him to present himself for questioning. Senior police inspector Sachin Kadam said the notice was pasted after repeated attempts to reach the doctor failed. “His phone is switched off and teams sent to his house on at least three occasions found the door locked,” he said.
The civic authorities and the hospital’s central internal complaints committee under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act have also instituted their own inquiries.
While TOI too could not reach Dr Deokar on his phone, late Friday evening he responded to a WhatsApp message. On a WhatsApp call, he said, “I have full faith in the judiciary. I am aware of the complaint and will cooperate with the POSH committee and police.”
Dr Deokar’s lawyer, Saurabh Tamhankar, has approached sessions court seeking anticipatory bail. The matter will be heard on Saturday.
The FIR against Dr Deokar has been lodged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 74 (acts of unwelcome physical contact, advances, or sexually coloured remarks), 75 (use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty) and 79 (protection from actions intended to insult modesty).
The FIR followed a written complaint submitted by the six doctors on April 10 to the head of the forensic medicine department Dr Harish Pathak and hospital dean Dr Sangeeta Rawat. On April 9, the six doctors approached Dr Deokar’s wife and told her about their experiences. “She assured us she would speak to him and that he would stop his misbehaviour,” states the FIR. Dr Rawat said in 2021, a similar complaint against Dr Deokar was filed by a doctor. She later moved abroad and couldn’t pursue the case. “This time, I escalated the matter to the additional municipal chief and director, BMC hospitals.”
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