Cancer doc attacked wife over sex in car
NHS consultant told cops: ‘Come and arrest me’
A CANCER specialist assaulted his wife days after finding her having sex with another man in a car he had bought her, a court has been told.
NHS consultant Devraj Srinivasan, 42, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court yesterday.
He told police to ‘come and arrest me’ after the assault during a row about the couple’s divorce plans.
Srinivasan admitted that on July 28 at his then home in Dunfermline he assaulted his wife Praveena Selvaraju by striking her to the back and the head.
Depute fiscal Catherine Stevenson said that at 9.45pm the couple were having ‘an argument over their divorce and separation’.
Miss Selvaraju decided she was leaving the room but Srinivasan approached her from behind and struck her on the back and the back of her head with the palm of his hand. She called 999 saying she had been assaulted.
The call-handler heard a male voice saying, ‘I confess to what happened. Come and arrest me.’
Defence solicitor Calum Harris said his client was a first-time offender and works as a consultant oncologist with NHS Lothian.
He added: ‘There were issues over an ongoing divorce. He found out in March that his partner was having an affair. She’s been in a relationship with this other man while she and Mr Srinivasan were still living under the same roof.
‘He caught them having sexual intercourse in a car he had recently purchased for her. This happened two days before this incident.
‘It’s a fragile situation. He’s been a consultant oncologist with the NHS since 2015.’
Sheriff Grant McCulloch said: ‘It’s an unhappy situation for everyone involved, including the NHS and the patients.’
He said he would not be imposing a sentence at this stage as that could have ‘immediate implications’ for Srinivasan’s career. Instead, he continued the case until November 9 and ordered Srinivasan to stay away from his former home.
Mr Harris said the defence would be seeking an absolute discharge.
Srinivasan is a consultant in clinical oncology specialising in treatment of head, neck and thyroid cancers. He is listed as one of the speakers at the Scottish Head and Neck Conference taking place next month at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says doctors are required to inform the General Medical Council (GMC) ‘without delay’ if they formally admit to committing a criminal offence anywhere in the world.
They also have an ongoing responsibility to declare criminal convictions throughout the duration of their employment.
On its website, the BMA states: ‘It is important that the GMC takes prompt and appropriate action to protect patients when a doctor’s fitness to practise is in question.
‘Police forces inform the GMC when a doctor is charged with, cautioned or convicted of a criminal offence. Doctors are also required to inform the GMC directly about these matters.’
‘His partner was having an affair’