Two doctors allegedly rape female colleague inside quarantine facility for COVID ward staff

Two doctors of a government hospital have ended up behind bars for allegedly raping their female colleague while they were quarantining in a COVID facility for doctors. Police said the incident happened in August and the complaint was filed in October.

The accused have been identified as 35-year-old Dr. S Vetriselvan and 28-year-old Dr. N Mohanraj from the Indian city of Chennai, reported The Times Of India.

Police said the incident happened in August during the COVID-19 outbreak. The doctors and the victim worked together in the isolation ward and, as per protocol, had to isolate themselves in a hotel.

According to the victim's complaint, the doctors barged into her room one night and sexually assaulted her during the isolation. The woman, who was traumatized after the incident, left the city and moved back home. She also did not report back to work for two months.

She eventually opened up to her parents, who provided her with counseling sessions. It was then that she decided to come back to the hospital to seek legal action.

The victim approached the police in October and CCTV visuals from the quarantine facility obtained as part of the primary investigation showed the doctors barging into her room.

Following this, the accused were arrested and charged with rape. The duo was brought before the court Thursday, reports added.

Meanwhile, a few other reports said one of the accused had molested another female colleague who was also staying in the same quarantine facility. Police said an investigation is ongoing in this regard, reported The New Indian Express.

Several similar incidents of sexual assault during the quarantine were reported in India this year while the country battled the devastating outbreak.

In another shocking incident, a COVID patient was raped by a male nurse at a government hospital in the Indian city of Bhopal in May. The victim died 24 hours later. Reports said the 43-year-old woman filed a complaint about the incident before her condition worsened and she was put on a ventilator. She died in the late evening on the same day. Police added that the victim had requested the case be kept private and her identity a secret.