Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday demanded Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to take action against an assistant professor accused of sexually harassing an MBBS student at Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College in Rohini.
Bharadwaj emphasized on the safety and security of female students in a medical college, and questioned why the Delhi health secretary and the chief secretary (CS) did not report the incident.
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Bharadwaj had unequivocally demanded the city’s top official to take severe action against the accused, and also gave directions for immediate action against the Principal & HOD at the institution for their reprehensible act of pressuring students to withdraw their complaint.
The minister also expressed disappointment over inaction in the matter stating, “shocked to see the CS is trying to defend the culprits by lame excuses.”
He further mentioned in his letter that the CS is justifying health secretary for not disclosing this incident of sexual assault to the Minister, despite clear instructions by the minister to the secretary (Health) to report such incidents promptly.
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According to Bharadwaj, the victims had to finally approach police in individual capacity, following failure of the Vigilance Dept & Health Department to take timely action, and the Internal Complaints Committee dragging the matter, not submitting its report in one-and-a-half months time.
Bharadwaj’s letter further condemned the CS for defending the health secretary, Vigilance, and ICC in his Action taken Report(ATR), despite their clear complicity in the matter.
It was during last month that a MBBS student of the BSA college had alleged that during a practical examination that was held in the month of January, she was asked inappropriate questions by the assistant professor in viva, which made her feel ‘uncomfortable’.
