Doctors in Jowai indifferent to minor rape victim

SHILLONG: A minor rape victim had to wait for hours for medical examination on Friday as government doctors in Jowai failed to attend to her.
Sources said on Saturday that the seven-year-old girl, who was sexually molested, was taken to Civil Hospital Jowai for medical examination as required under the POCSO Act.
The medical superintendent was supposed to make all arrangements but the girl, her family and the police were made to wait from 2pm to 8pm despite meeting the Medical Superintendent and doctors on duty.
The police on duty called up Jowai SP R. Muthu to inform him of the failure of the doctors as well as the superintendent, who is a lady doctor, but failed to arrange a female doctor to conduct the medical examination.
There were lady doctors in the hospital as well as in the district health office, Jowai.
The SP called up additional deputy commissioner DM Wallang and he in turn had to call the District Medical and Health Officer as efforts to call the medical superintendent failed. It was only then that she conducted the medical examination on the girl at 9 pm.
An official said the
District Administration had issued instructions on July 9 to the DMHO and the medical superintendent to submit all postmortem examination reports within a week, to attend to all POCSO cases, domestic violence and rape cases on top priority but Friday’s incident reflects the inhuman side of government doctors.