Following the news of the alleged rape of a 5-year-old girl in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore, the staff of the facility and the Young Doctors Association (YDA) are protesting. Consequently, the Lahore police has now registered a case on the allegations.
Dawn’s Imran Gabol reported that the protest is led by the young doctors of the hospital. Their demonstration was also joined by the staff and students of the hospital as well as adjoining facility of the Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU).
The protestors demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged rape of a minor girl in the premises of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. “The students of FJMU/SGRH demand transparency and an investigation of the case. The students further demand the administration to answer their criminal silence. If such incidents are covered up and silenced, it raises a question mark for the hospital administration,” the demand said.
The Case
ARY News reported that a sanitation worker identified as Abid Maseeh allegedly molested the minor child in the hospital when she was admitted on the third floor. The report said that the mother of the child refused to proceed with the case, but the police arrested the worker.
ARY News reported the accused later confessed by stating that he was overpowered by “evil desires”.
Meanwhile, Dr Hafiz Moinuddin, SRG hospital’s medical superintendent, told Dawn.com that the girl was sleeping with her mother in a corridor when a sanitary worker “touched” her at 2am in the night. He said the girl screamed and woke her mother up, prompting several people in the hospital to gather on the spot.
The sanitary worker was then taken to the security room, where the security in charge called the police and handed over the suspect to them.
Dr Moinuddin asserted that Abid was not a hospital employee and that the company responsible for hiring him had also fired him following the incident.
He also informed Dawn that the hospital administration was taking special measures for the security of the attendants of patients and would not tolerate any mismanagement.
The FIR was registered at the Civil Lines police states that the police received a call that a suspect had harassed a woman’s daughter on the hospital’s third floor. Upon arriving, the police were informed that the suspect was a sweeper at the hospital who was surrounded by a crowd after the girl had created noise.
In its editorial, Express Tribune said, “The hospital’s version may well be true, but then why the attempts to obstruct the course of a probe? Why the text of the FIR did not mention rape? One fails to understand why the country’s law enforcement moves at a snail’s pace to even register a report in such cases. Why the reluctance?”
Videos of doctors and paramedical staff protesting outside the hospital are widely shared on social media, where they criticise the FIR, ask for better security and allege that the hospital administration is downplaying the incident, covering up the matter and silencing the victim’s family.
So many took to social media and voiced their opinion. Nida Kirmani posted that, “The admin of Ganga Ram Hospital is trying to cover up the sexual abuse of a 5-year old patient & threatening students of Fatima Jinnah Medical Uni for protesting. They must hold themselves & their staff accountable & provide support to the victim & her family.”
Saadia Ahmed posted about the incident, commenting that “this region is unlivable for the vulnerable.”
