Woman Raped In ICU While Hands Tied To Bed And On Oxygen Support

In a horrific case of sexual abuse, a hospital worker has been accused of repeatedly raping a female patient who was on oxygen support and whose hands were tied to a bed in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital.

The incident happened in a hospital in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan on Monday night. The victim, who remains unidentified, was admitted to the ICU after undergoing surgery in the gynecology department of the hospital.

The alleged abuse came to light Tuesday. The victim wrote about the sexual assault on a piece of paper when her husband came to see her, reported The Times of India.

The police arrested Khushiram Gujjar, the staff member who was on duty to monitor patients while in ICU, on charges of raping the victim. The victim was under the influence of sedatives administered to her for the surgery. She was reportedly assaulted multiple times that night.

The victim had a mask and her hands were tied to a bed following the surgery. Gujjar admitted to the police that he had touched the victim six to seven times during the night.

According to Panna Ram, the officer investigating the case, the accused went to the ICU to check on two patients, including the victim.

"The medical report of the victim confirmed that she was raped by the accused and touched at several places," Ram said.

After the incident, the victim kept crying the whole night. She was threatened by the accused when she tried to report the abuse to a nurse. The woman, who was unable to speak as she was on oxygen support, managed to narrate her ordeal in writing when her husband came to visit her the next morning, reported Times Now News.

The police reviewed the CCTV footage of the hospital and collected evidence for the case.

Gujjar joined the hospital as a staff member six months ago and police are investigating his criminal history. He was sent to judicial custody for 15 days after he appeared in court on Wednesday.

In a similar incident in October 2020, a 21-year-old patient who was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis in an ICU of a hospital in New Delhi was allegedly raped, reported Hindustan Times. The victim was reportedly raped by a staff member while she was in a semi-conscious condition on a ventilator.