Indian hospital staff arrested over patient's 'rape'

The 19-year-old woman had been moved to the intensive care unit of the Apollo hospital in Gujarat state

NEW DELHI: A doctor and a hospital attendant have been arrested for the alleged rape of a woman who was being treated at a top hospital in western India, a police officer said Friday.

The two hospital employees were arrested on Thursday after the alleged victim, who was being treated for dengue, said they drugged and raped her twice over the weekend.

The 19-year-old woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had been moved to the intensive care unit of the Apollo hospital in Gujarat state.



"The primary medical report has confirmed rape and the victim has identified both the accused. They are on police remand," Virendra Yadav, police chief of Gandhinagar city, told AFP.

Yadav said police have sent blood samples from the accused for forensic tests and are examining CCTV footage.

The Apollo hospital group said it was cooperating with police.

"The ward where the incident took place has 14 staff members working round the clock, and is equipped with CCTV cameras," Apollo said in a statement.

It is not the first time patients in Indian hospitals have alleged rape.

In February a teenager who was being treated in hospital after a sexual assault in eastern Jharkhand state accused a hospital security guard of raping her.

More than 34,000 rapes were reported in 2015, according to the latest figures from the national crimes records bureau, but many go unreported and the true figure is believed to be much higher.