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Published 22 Oct, 2008 12:00am

HYDERABAD: Court seeks record of proceedings against NMCH student

HYDERABAD, Oct 21: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Monday ordered the prosecution to submit the details of an inquiry conducted against a doctor on charges that he had harassed a number of nurses at the Nawabshah Medical College Hospital (NMCH).

The court sought the record after the student’s counsel argued that his client had not been given an opportunity of hearing.

Additional Advocate-General (AAG) of Sindh, Mr Allah Bachayo Soomro, sought time to submit proceedings of the inquiry before Nov 11 – the next date of hearing.

The doctor was represented by Sundar Das advocate.

On Nov 8, 2004 the doctor had applied for admission to a post-graduate degree course in general medicine. The application was granted.

He started attending the course on March 1, 2005, and submitted synopsis. He was awarded stipend for private post-graduate student from March 30, 2006.

On the basis of news report on the same date, the medical superintendent of the NMCH banned his entry in college premises after accusing him of “sexual harassment”.

The doctor’s counsel said that on July 18 last year, the deputy medical superintendent of NMCH called his client and asked him to record his statement.

He asked for copy of the complaint and contested the competence of the deputy MS to conduct an inquiry. He said that without finalising inquiry the doctor was served with notice on July 26 to appear before a high-level inquiry team led by deputy secretary health on July 27, 2007.

He appeared before it and sought documents and report of the previous inquiry, but no documents were given.

The doctor was served a fresh notice, with which he complied by appearing before EDO Health of Nawabshah, informing him that two inquiries had already been conducted. To date, he said, he had not been furnished any document of inquiries.

He said that four nurses had been changing their statements while two persons Zakir Hussain Soomro and Gul Mohammad Lakho were exonerated.

He said that principal of NMCH had not conducted an inquiry against him nor participated in proceeding against him.

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