Air hostess ICU sexual assault case: Police analyse 800 CCTVs' footage, arrest accused (Lead)

Gurugram, April 18 (IANS) A day after its formation, the Gurugram police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the air hostess ICU sexual assault case on Friday nabbed the accused, after analysing the footage from at least 800 CCTV cameras installed inside and outside of the private hospital, police said.

The accused was identified as Deepak, 25, a native of Bihar's Muzaffarpur and working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital for the past five months. The accused will be produced before the court on Saturday, and police will seek police custody for further investigation, a police official said.

An official privy to the matter said the accused, arrested in the Sadar Police Station area on Friday, has confessed to his crime.

"While investigating the incident, eight police teams checked the footage of 800 CCTV cameras installed in the hospital, and around 50 hospital staff, including doctors, were questioned about the incident. Keeping in mind the seriousness of the incident, the police teams investigated every angle and collected a lot of information related to the incident, as a result of which the police got great success in identifying the accused who committed the crime," DCP, Headquarters, Arpit Jain.

On Thursday, Gurugram Police Commissioner Vikas Kumar Arora had set up the SIT for the identification and arrest of the accused. The SIT, headed by DCP Jain, had eight different police teams which were given special directions and deployed to collect information and evidence related to the incident.

The eight different teams, including those headed by ACP, Sadar, Yashwant, ACP, CAW, Kavita, Sadar SHO, Inspector Sunil Kumar, SHO, Women Police West, Inspector Geeta, CIA in charge Sector 40, Inspector Amit Kumar and the investigation officer, Assistant-Sub-Inspector Sonika collected various information related to the matter.

The 46-year-old air hostess had alleged in her complaint that she was sexually assaulted when she was on ventilator support in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a noted private hospital in Gurugram on April 6. The matter came to light on April 13 when she told her husband about the sexual assault, who alerted the police and filed a complaint.

According to the complaint, the air hostess had come to Gurugram for training on behalf of the company and was staying in a hotel. During this time, her health deteriorated due to a drowning incident, after which she was admitted to a private hospital for treatment. After that, on April 5, her husband admitted her to another hospital in Gurugram for treatment. She was discharged from the hospital on April 13.

"During the treatment, on April 6, she was on a ventilator, during which some staff of the hospital sexually assaulted her. At that time, she was on a ventilator and could not speak and was very scared. She was also unconscious at the time of the incident, and two nurses were also around her," the victim had alleged in her complaint.

After being discharged, she told her husband about the sexual assault, and he, after informing the police, filed a complaint in front of the legal advisor.

Following a complaint filed by the victim, a case was registered at the Sadar Police Station, Gurugram. A police team was rushed to the hospital to scan the duty chart and analyse the CCTV footage to identify the accused, police said.

The hospital said it had suspended the employee.

"We have been informed that the police has identified a suspect who has been taken into custody in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning allegations of sexual assault on a patient. On the basis of information provided to us by the police, at present, we have suspended the suspect employee. As we await the final outcome of the investigation, we will continue to provide full support to the police," the hospital's medical superintendent said in a statement.

--IANS

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