Teenage girl drugged and sexually assaulted inside govt hospital in MP's Rewa; its staffer held

Rewa, Jun 12 (PTI) A 16-year-old girl was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted inside a government-run hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa, where her mother was undergoing treatment, following which the police have arrested a staffer of the medical facility, officials said.

The incident took place on Sunday night at the Government Gandhi Memorial Hospital, they said, adding that medical reports have ruled out rape, they said.

Rewa is the home district of state Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who heads the health ministry.

Targeting the BJP-ruled government over the incident, the opposition Congress on Thursday claimed it was a case of rape and not molestation, and accused the ruling party of covering it up.

Talking to PTI over phone, Rewa Superintendent of Police Vivek Singh said, "Ward boy Mahendra Tiwari (25) was initially detained and finally arrested on Thursday. He has been charged under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Information Technology Act." The girl from Sidhi district's Rampur Naikin area was attending to her mother, who was admitted to hospital since May 19.

In her complaint, the girl alleged that a ward boy gave her two tablets after she complained of sore throat and felt dizzy on Sunday night, police sources said.

After that the ward boy called her and lured her to come to the entrance of a nearby super speciality block. He then tried to take the girl to his room located behind the hospital but left her midway, they added.

The girl said she remembers nothing beyond that point. Later, she was found unconscious inside the hospital campus and was subsequently admitted to the gynaecology ward, police sources said.

According to sources close to investigators, the ward boy took her obscene photos and videos and tried to blackmail her threatening to make them viral.

On Monday, her mother was discharged from the hospital and they returned home.

Hours later, circulation of a CCTV clip linked to the incident led the hospital administration and police to take action.

SP Singh said the police recorded the girl's statement in Sidhi district and booked two more persons under the sections Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 3(5) (common intention) along with sections 7/8 (sexual assault) of the POCSO Act and IT Act.

These two unidentified suspects sexually assaulted the girl in a passage of two buildings of the hospital, the police sources said.

Efforts are on to identify and arrest the two more accused, the SP said.

Singh said there was no evidence of gang-rape, and cited findings from two separate medical panels.

Medical reports have ruled out rape, the police said.

Investigation into the case has been handed over to the women police, Singh added.

Taking to X, Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar wrote, "Gangrape of woman in Rewa Government Hospital but police response is shameful. The survivor is clearly saying - 'I was gangraped'." "But the police are unwilling to listen. The FIR mentions only "molestation", indicating an attempt to shield the accused. This is not just one incident - it exposes the truth about the state's justice system, policing, and the status of women's safety where the voice of the survivor is silenced, and the accused roam free," he said.

"I had said it earlier too - whenever a sister suffers, the BJP government is seen standing not with the victim, but with the accused," the Congress leader alleged. PTI COR LAL NP