Kolkata, Oct 24 (IANS) A special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Friday remanded Amit Mallick, accused of molesting a minor girl within state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College and Hospital in south Kolkata earlier this week, to police custody till October 31.

The public prosecutor informed the court that CCTV footage had corroborated the allegation that Mallick took the 15-year-old victim to the washroom at the trauma care wing and molested her there.

In the footage, the accused is clearly seen escorting the victim to the washroom — the scene of the crime. The prosecutor also sought permission to conduct Mallick’s DNA test and to record his confidential statement.

Earlier in the day, the state health department sought a report from S.S.K.M. authorities on the incident and demanded an explanation on how the accused could freely move around inside the hospital despite no longer being attached to it.

Mallick, a contractual staff member currently posted at N.R.S. Medical College and Hospital, was earlier associated with S.S.K.M. and allegedly continued accessing the hospital by misusing that old link.

The main charge against Mallick, framed under multiple Sections of the POCSO Act, 2012, is molestation of a 15-year-old girl inside the S.S.K.M. washroom.

The victim had arrived at the Outpatient Department for treatment when the accused, allegedly posing as a doctor, took her to the trauma care washroom and molested her. The girl ran out in shock and narrated the ordeal to her parents.

Following the complaint, Bhabanipur Police Station was informed, and a police team arrested the accused on Wednesday night.

Earlier this week, a traffic home-guard was arrested for beating a female junior doctor attached to a state-run hospital at Uluberia in Kolkata-adjacent Howrah district. The accused home guard also gave a rape threat to the woman doctor.

–IANS

src/pgh