Kishtwar Hospital Worker dismissed, arrested in rape victim’s death case

Jammu Tawi: A sanitation worker at the District Hospital, Kishtwar, was dismissed from service following his arrest for his alleged role in a conspiracy to conceal the sexual assault and alleged termination of pregnancy of a 15-year-old tribal girl, officials said.

The accused Ahmad, a daily-wage sweeper at the hospital, was arrested by police on Wednesday after being named in the case. Hospital authorities subsequently terminated his services with immediate effect.

“Police informed us about his arrest. He was dismissed from service on Thursday,” Medical Superintendent Yudhveer Singh Kotwal told reporters.

Kotwal, who issued the termination order, said the employee’s continuation in service was considered incompatible with the discipline, integrity and proper functioning of a public health institution, given the serious nature of the allegations and offences involved.

He clarified that the employee had been dismissed from service and not merely suspended.

Asked whether the minor girl had been admitted to the hospital and about other details of the case, Kotwal declined to comment, saying the matter was under police investigation.

“I do not want to say anything that could influence the investigation. The probe is underway and we are cooperating with the police,” he said.

According to officials, the 15-year-old tribal girl was allegedly sexually assaulted repeatedly by a teacher at her school over several months, resulting in her pregnancy. She later died following an alleged attempt to terminate the pregnancy in the Chatroo area.

Police arrested the government teacher and his brother on August 20. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional SP Pardeep Singh, was subsequently constituted to conduct a time-bound investigation into the case.

During the investigation, police alleged that the teacher repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl and that, in conspiracy with his brother, he administered medicines purportedly to terminate her pregnancy.

The accused allegedly first took the girl to a Public Health Centre in Chatroo. She was later shifted to the District Hospital, Kishtwar, where, according to police, the accused sweeper was allegedly involved in efforts to conceal the offence.

The girl subsequently delivered a stillborn child and later died, officials said.

The SIT has so far arrested three persons, including the sweeper, for their alleged role in concealing the sexual assault and the alleged termination of the minor’s pregnancy, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five.