40-yr-old staff rapes minor in Rohini hospital, arrested

NEW DELHI: A 40-year-old housekeeping employee of a government hospital in Rohini has been arrested for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl in the hospital premises early Friday morning.

Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta said the girl was admitted to the hospital on September 13 and was undergoing treatment for stomach pain. Her mother was staying with her in the ward.

Police said t hat around 4.30am, the girl got up from her bed and was going to the bathroom when the man, Radhey Shyam, allegedly took her to an adjacent room where he raped her. Her mother was asleep at that time.

“The accused raped the girl and threatened to kill her and her parents if she told anyone about the incident. The girl returned to her bed and started crying, and narrated her ordeal to her mother,” a police officer said.

The girl’s mother raised an alarm and i nformed other patients and attendants. One of them alerted t he hospital authorities.

DCP Gupta said the girl’s family called the police control room around 6am. “A police team reached t he hospital and arrested Radhey Shyam. He has been booked under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and under the Indian Penal Code,” he added.

Police said Radhey Shyam, a resident of Delhi’s Samaipur Badli, was a contractual staff and had been working at the hospital for the last two years. The girl’s medical examination was conducted and a non-governmental organisation was called to counsel her.

The girl, police said, lives with her parents and other family members in a village in outer Delhi. Her parents are labourers. She studies in a government school in her neighbourhood, police said.

Police statistics show 403 cases of rape and 410 cases molestation with children were reported till June 30 this year. Last year, police had registered 921 rape and 719 molestation cases involving children.

Meanwhile, officials of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) said that their crisis team has been in constant touch with the victim and they will ensure proper steps are taken for her rehabilitation.

“Our counsellors visited the minor girl in the hospital soon after the case was reported. Another team has been in constant touch with the police and the family,” said a Delhi commission for Women member, who did not wish to be identified.

POLICE SAID AROUND 4.30AM, THE GIRL GOT UP FROM HER BED AND WAS GOING TO THE BATHROOM WHEN THE ACCUSED LURED HER