Harassment suspect only manhandled nurse, says inquiry

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LAHORE: The inquiry committee probing into incident of an attempt of sexual assault on an on-duty nurse in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) ward of the Mayo Hospital found out that the accused doctor had only “manhandled” the nurse and no “indecent” activity took place, sources told Pakistan Today on Friday.
Dozens of nurses from the Mayo Hospital had gathered in front of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday to protest against alleged attempt of sexual assault on their colleague Ayesha by House Officer (HO) Dr Asad Iqbal. They said that first-year nursing student Ayesha was performing her routine duty in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Ward of the Mayo Hospital and went to the retiring room to have her meal at 1am on Wednesday.
The nurses alleged that Iqbal initially asked the ward maid to leave, switched off the lights and entered the retiring room where he tried to sexually assault Ayesha, on which she offered resistance and raised uproar, forcing Iqbal to flee.
Mayo Hospital MS Dr Zahid Pervaiz terminated the doctor on December 22 and also formed a three-member committee headed by Dr Sabrina Pal on Thursday to probe into the incident. Sources privy to the development revealed that the committee has finalised the report after taking versions of all stakeholders including parents of the nurse.
The final report, including recommendations to avoid such incidents in the future, has been submitted and would soon be made public. They revealed that the committee did not find any “indecent” activity on part of the doctor during the inquiry. Pervaiz said that the accused doctor has already been terminated and the committee has finalised the report but he has not received it yet. “It will be premature to say anything beforehand. Even if it is manhandling, due action will be initiated against the accused at all costs,” he added.