AIIMS doctor penalised for allegedly harassing senior colleague
DELHI: The All India Institue of Medical Science (AIIMS) administration has found an assistant professor guilty of “unacceptable behaviour” with the head of the Rheumatology department and making phone calls to her at odd hours.
The administration has issued a warning to the junior doctor and extended his probation period, saying that his behaviour caused the senior mental harassment.
In a complaint of harassment at the workplace filed with the AIIMS administration, and later with Hauz Khas Police Station last year, the woman had said that the junior doctor, in the same department, used to threaten her, misbehave with her, and make phone calls at odd hours.
A committee, constituted by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria in December last year to inquire into the complaint, observed in its report submitted in August this year that there had been instances when the doctor made repeated mobile phone calls, even at odd hours, and indulged in “unnecessary correspondence to such an extent that the woman faculty felt threatened and approached the police for protection”.
“His hostile attitude, indecent and arrogant behaviour with a senior faculty colleague, that too the head of the department, is unacceptable. This has caused mental harassment and perception of threat to her,” the committee said.
Following the committee’s report, the AIIMS administration issued a warning to the assistant professor, and in a disciplinary action, extended his probation period by one year, with a provision to review his performance at the end of the extended probation to decide on further extending the period.
“The professor has failed to exercise restraint and exhibit civility, which is essentially expected from a faculty member. He has behaved consistently in a way which is not acceptable from a faculty member of this institute with his senior female faculty member,” the committee said in its report.
Meanwhile, the court of the Special Executive Magistrate has asked the assistant professor to furnish a bond of Rs 10,000 as an undertaking to maintain peace in connection with the complaint lodged against him with the police.