15 February,2019 07:14 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma
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The JJ Marg police have arrested a 45-year-old sweeper at JJ hospital for making lewd gestures at a minor last week and at the hospital's nurses in the past, along with harassing them.
Nitin Waghela was arrested after a complaint was filed by a minor girl who was at the hospital with her grandmother. An officer attached to JJ Marg police station said, "The victim is a 17-year-old girl from Jalgaon who was accompanying her ailing grandmother. In the wee hours of February 9, when the victim was waiting outside the operation theatre, Waghela allegedly made obscene gestures at her."
Initially, the victim ignored Waghela but he continued the gestures past midnight. The victim narrated the incident to her aunt who too was visiting the patient. The two soon approached the administrative office of the hospital who suggested going to the police. "Waghela was not on duty at the time of the incident. He was known to roam around in the hospital premises and peep into the windows of nurses' changing room. Many nurses had warned him not to enter their changing rooms and washrooms without knocking but he would simply say 'sorry' and continue such acts," said an employee at JJ Hospital.
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Another source at the hospital confirmed the story, saying, "Waghela would stay back at the hospital after work and molest females, often taking advantage of the crowd at the hospital. But people here are often stressed about getting their treatments done, and hence no one had bothered to register a complaint against him so far. This encouraged his behaviour."
Waghela has been booked under sections 354D (stalking) of the IPC and section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and is in police remand for further interrogation.
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