NEW DELHI: A teenage COVID-19 patient was allegedly sexually assaulted inside a corona care centre by two other patients in the national capital. The Sardar Vallabhai Patel corona care centre located in south Delhi is the biggest quarantine facility in the city.
The police said the incident which took place last week could not be investigated as the accused had tested positive for the infectious disease. The two were arrested five days later after they had tested negative.
“An FIR has been registered, and following COVID-19 protocol, the victim has been examined and sent to a private care centre. The accused were investigated on Thursday after they tested negative and have been sent to judicial custody in isolation,” said a senior police officer.
The incident according to sources took place around 2 pm on Friday last week inside the city’s largest COVID care centre.
“When the victim went outside the female ward to the washroom, the boys who were roaming in the corridor allegedly molested her. When she started screaming, the accused fled, but the security guard caught the boys and alerted the police,” said the police.
The South Delhi Police produced the accused before the court on Thursday via videoconference. The two have been kept off the other jail inmates.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is the nodal agency operating the centre, which also serves as a treatment centre for patients who are asymptomatic but can’t afford home isolation.