VIJAYAWADA: Two women doctors from Nellore and Visakhapatnam have alleged harassment by bikeborne miscreants. While the doctor from Vizag alleged that she was sexually harassed, the Nellore doctor said she was repeatedly stalked by a group of men.
The doctor from Nellore told TNIE that she was followed by some men on two bikes till Narayana Hospital. "At first, I ignored them, but I was scared when they came inside the hospital. I told one of my friends about this, and a constable deployed near the hospital came to know of the incident. When he reprimanded the men, they apologised and left," he added.
However, she was stalked by the same group again. "On Thursday, they stopped me and my friend and asked him to step out of the car. They slapped and verbally abused him, and even warned of filling an atrocity case against us if we approached the police," she added.
She lodged a complaint regarding the incident at the nearby police station, and the police registered a case on Friday evening. "We have sent notices to the accused — Teja, Manikanta, Prasada alias David and Sheikh Nasar,"sub-inspector Nagarjuna Reddy told TNIE.
The doctor demanded that the accused be booked under the Disha Act. Meanwhile, the doctor from Visakhapatnam, in her letter to the Women’s Commission, stated that she was inappropriately touched by men on bikes on Thursday night when she was returning home from the hospital. "The men touched me inappropriately and fled on bikes. I could not see their faces as it was dark and they were wearing helmets," she wrote.
Disha Police Station ACP Priyanka said, "She (the doctor) is yet to file a complaint. But, she has asked us to ensure that the area is properly illuminated as she and her colleagues use that stretch regularly. We have started patrolling the area now. Arrangements are being made to install street lights there. We have launched a covert operation."
Meanwhile, Women’s Commission chairperson Vasireddy Padma said, "Even after the Centre passed an ordinance and amendments were made to the Epidemic Act, it is unfortunate that such incidents are taking place. We are striving to ensure justice is done to these two doctors and ensure that such incidents do not happen again."