NCW Finds Lapses in Police Probe into Delhi Doctor's Rape

The National Commission for Women (NCW) Thursday found several anomalies in the investigation into the case of a 24-year-old doctor who was allegedly raped and seriously wounded at a government hospital in west Delhi last week.

"There are many loopholes in the investigation, which demand immediate explanations. We have asked the police to work on them," said Malini Bhattacharya, the NCW member inquiring into the case.

"After talking to the ESIS (Employees' State Insurance Scheme) hospital staff and the police, we found that she was left injured in her unmanned hostel room for two days and no one took care of her. Why didn't the hospital authorities inquire about her? It seems that they were unconcerned," Bhattacharya told IANS.

She said the hospital authorities informed the police on Sep 23, full two days after the incident. They should have acted in time so that the police could seal the room where the doctor was found unconscious and brutally injured, she added.

"The room remained unmanned for two days and it was very easy for the culprit to damage or tarnish the evidence. Nobody - neither the police nor hospital authorities - even knows where her clothes vanished. The victim's clothes would have been vital evidence and helped in nabbing the culprit," Bhattacharya said.

She also rebuffed reports that the victim had attempted suicide.

"The strangulation marks clearly suggest that an attempt was made on the doctor's life," she said, adding that her team would present its report to the commission Friday.

Bhattacharya said that Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Delhi) Robin Hibu had assured her that the police were taking necessary actions and were also working on the said loopholes.

A three-member NCW team headed by Bhattacharya on Wednesday visited the victim at the privately run Balaji Healthcare Hospital in Pashchim Vihar and directed the police to file an action taken report within a week.

Earlier in the day, the police continued their investigations and the hospital doctors said though the victim's condition was improving, she remained in coma.

"The victim's health is improving but we couldn't record her statement. We have vital clues and are working on them," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Rajesh Kumar.

The 24-year-old resident doctor was found lying unconscious and severely injured in her hostel room at the hospital in Moti Nagar on Sep 21 when her sister went to meet her. The doctor had earlier neither responded to her sister's telephone calls nor turned up at their home.

Authorities of the state-run ESIS Hospital told the police that the doctor - a general physician, hailing from Punjab - was found unconscious and injured in her hostel room. She was admitted to the emergency ward of the same hospital and later transferred to the private hospital.

The police said a special team was probing the case.

"Doctors informed us that there were strangulation marks on her neck and injuries on her private parts. She was hurt badly and for better treatment she has been shifted to a private hospital," a police official said.

Source-IANS
LIN/C