A 28-year-old trainee doctor in Goa, western India, was arrested on Thursday, September 11, for allegedly sexually assaulting a 23-year-old Moroccan woman while she was in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Old Goa. Indian media, citing the complaint, reported that the assault took place on August 31, two days after the Moroccan woman had been admitted for a neurological disorder. Police said the doctor initially entered the ICU with a nurse but then asked her to leave the room before the assault. The accused allegedly lifted the patient's hospital gown and touched her «private area» under the pretext of conducting a neurological sensitivity examination, «while she was immobile and in a vulnerable condition». The woman, who holds a business visa, had traveled to Goa with a group to attend a poverty-reduction training programme on Divar island. She was staying at a resort on the island before being hospitalized. Her sister, a Spanish national, filed the complaint on September 10, stating that doctor «outraged her modesty and committed rape while being in a position of authority». Police confirmed that the accused fled Goa after the incident but was tracked to Sangli, a city in the neighboring state of Maharashtra, and arrested. He faces charges of rape in hospital, assault, forceful disrobing, and insulting the modesty of a woman. In a statement, Healthway Hospital said the accused doctor was immediately suspended and pledged «all moral and logistical support» to the survivor, who continues to undergo treatment at the Old Goa facility.
