Mehsana(Gujarat): A court in Gujarat's Mehsana district sentenced a man to three years of imprisonment for sexually harassing an on-duty healthcare worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. Special judge C M Pawar last week convicted the accused Kamlesh Patel of charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Epidemic Diseases Act, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Disaster Management Act.
Additional public prosecutor Ashok Makwana claimed this is possibly the country's first conviction under the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act after the ordinance was enforced by the Union government during the pandemic in April 2020 to provide protection for healthcare personnel combating such diseases. The court order was passed on September 2.
An ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker at a primary health centre at Balol in Mehsana had lodged a complaint in April 2020 alleging that the accused had sexually harassed her when she was on a field visit to check some patients suspected to be infected with coronavirus. The accused accosted her for a physical relationship while she was on duty, and when she refused, he caught hold of her and forced her to get into his vehicle, the complainant claimed. Her parents and other acquaintances saved her from his clutches. Upon this, he threatened her before leaving.