Medical college employee arrested for sexually abusing woman patient in ICU; Kerala minister orders departmental probe

Kerala Police on Monday arrested an employee of the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode on the allegation that he sexually abused a woman patient admitted to the post-surgery Intensive Care Unit (ICU), officials said. Close on the heels of the police action, state Health Minister Veena George has ordered the director of medical education to conduct a departmental probe into the incident.

The accused has been identified as K Saseendran, 55, from Kozhikode. He had gone into hiding after the incident.

According to the police, the alleged incident was reported on Saturday. After her surgery, the woman was taken to the ICU where Saseendran, an attender in the operation theatre, allegedly abused the patient. At the time of the incident, other staff members at the ICU were away. The woman told her relatives that she had not fully recovered from the anaesthesia at the time of the abuse. Following an intimation from the hospital, the police registered a case.