Bleeding profusely, 5-year-old rape survivor waits 10 hours for medical examination at UP hosp

Time of India

30-04-2025

Pilibhit: A five-year-old rape survivor, bleeding profusely, waited more than 10 hours for a medical examination after police brought her to
Pilibhit district women's hospital
at 2am on Wednesday, even though a doctor from Autonomous State Medical College (ASMC) was on night duty. A medical officer from a rural health centre, nearly 20km away, eventually examined her around 12.30pm.
The survivor was allegedly raped by a 20-year-old neighbour during a wedding after he lured her away and assaulted her on a deserted street on Tuesday night in a village under Neuria police station limits. Severely injured, the child reached her parents and described the assault. Following a written complaint by her father, police filed a case under BNS section 65(2) (
rape of a girl under 12
) and the
Pocso Act
, SHO Roopa Visht said.
Pilibhit SP Abhishek Yadav and DM Sanjay Kumar Singh took serious note of the delay the girl faced at the hospital. Despite being on duty at the women's hospital, assistant professor Roopam Khare from ASMC did not conduct the examination. Dr Manisha Chaurasia was called from the Barkhera primary health centre to conduct the examination. Yadav said four teams, including units from the crime cell and special operations group (SOG), have been formed to arrest the accused, who is at large.
Asked why the ASMC doctor did not examine the girl, college principal Dr Sangita Aneja said the duty lay with a doctor from the medical and health department, not from the ASMC medical education wing. Chief medical officer Dr Alok Kumar disagreed. "Any MBBS doctor is authorised to conduct a rape survivor's medical examination. It was the foremost duty of assistant professor Roopam Khare to do so immediately," he said.
During an official visit to Pilibhit on Wednesday, state women's commission member Sunita Saini visited the hospital and checked medico-legal records. She found that woman medical officer Dr Swati Shrivastav from the medical and health department had been absent without approved leave. She recommended strict action, saying Shrivastav's unauthorised absence led to the excessive delay.
Pilibhit: A five-year-old rape survivor, bleeding profusely, waited more than 10 hours for a medical examination after police brought her to Pilibhit district women's hospital at 2am on Wednesday, even though a doctor from Autonomous State Medical College (ASMC) was on night duty. A medical officer from a rural health centre, nearly 20km away, eventually examined her around 12.30pm.
The survivor was allegedly raped by a 20-year-old neighbour during a wedding after he lured her away and assaulted her on a deserted street on Tuesday night in a village under Neuria police station limits. Severely injured, the child reached her parents and described the assault. Following a written complaint by her father, police filed a case under BNS section 65(2) (rape of a girl under 12) and the Pocso Act, SHO Roopa Visht said.
Pilibhit SP Abhishek Yadav and DM Sanjay Kumar Singh took serious note of the delay the girl faced at the hospital. Despite being on duty at the women's hospital, assistant professor Roopam Khare from ASMC did not conduct the examination. Dr Manisha Chaurasia was called from the Barkhera primary health centre to conduct the examination. Yadav said four teams, including units from the crime cell and special operations group (SOG), have been formed to arrest the accused, who is at large.
Asked why the ASMC doctor did not examine the girl, college principal Dr Sangita Aneja said the duty lay with a doctor from the medical and health department, not from the ASMC medical education wing. Chief medical officer Dr Alok Kumar disagreed. "Any MBBS doctor is authorised to conduct a rape survivor's medical examination. It was the foremost duty of assistant professor Roopam Khare to do so immediately," he said.
During an official visit to Pilibhit on Wednesday, state women's commission member Sunita Saini visited the hospital and checked medico-legal records. She found that woman medical officer Dr Swati Shrivastav from the medical and health department had been absent without approved leave. She recommended strict action, saying Shrivastav's unauthorised absence led to the excessive delay.