Nursing assistant jailed for 2 years for molesting ICU patient in Thane
Court, however, drops POCSO charges citing lack of proof of victim’s age
A special court in Maharashtra’s Thane has sentenced a 33-year-old male nursing assistant, Imran Samiullah Ahmed to two years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting him for outraging the modesty of a female patient over five years ago.
Special Judge Ruby U Malvankar, however, dropped the charges against Samiullah under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, noting on Thursday that the prosecution failed to prove the complainant was a minor at the time.
As per court papers, the incident took place on September 12, 2020, when the complainant was admitted to the ICU of a private hospital following a mental shock caused by the death of her younger brother due to electrocution.
Samiullah molested her under the pretext of checking her blood pressure, prompting the complainant to raise an alarm. He was subsequently arrested.
Special Public Prosecutor YM Patil said that seven witnesses, including the complainant and her mother, testified in the court.
“The accused was working in the hospital as a male nurse. Therefore, his job was to take care of the patients and not to sexually molest the patients taking disadvantage of their medical condition,” the court said, handing the man two years of rigorous imprisonment.
But Judge Malvankar refused to consider the charges against Samiullah under POCSO, saying the prosecution could not conclusively prove that the complainant was a minor at the time.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the convict.
