Indian-American doctor indicted for sexually assaulting patients
Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 May, 2023 12:50 PM
New York, May 8 (IANS) An Indian-origin primary care physician in US' Georgia has been accused of sexually assaulting four of his female patients during routine check-ups over a 12-month period.
Rajesh Motibhai Patel, 68, was indicted last week on multiple counts of violating his patients' constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under colour of law and for engaging in unwanted sexual contact, a Department of Justice release said.
According to information presented in court, between 2019 and 2020, Patel, a physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Decatur, allegedly assaulted four of his female patients by touching them improperly during routine exams. Investigators believe that Patel may have victimised additional patients.
"Patel allegedly sexually abused his female patients and violated his oath to do no harm to patients under his care," US Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said.
"Veterans and their families expect and deserve the highest quality of healthcare delivered in a safe and accountable setting," Veteran Affairs Inspector General Michael J. Missal said.
He said that the department has been cooperating the law enforcement to ensure the safety of patients.
Officers responded to the Columbia Machine Inc. at around 2:30 p.m, where they found the four victims, the Washington County Sheriff's Office wrote in the latest press release. The suspect fled the scene prior to law enforcement's arrival. The suspect's vehicle was later encountered by Maryland State Police.
The initial mandate allowed those who were fully vaccinated to show proof of a negative test within three days of travel, while unvaccinated people had to present a test taken within one day of travel.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian also rejected accusations that China had not fully cooperated with investigators, saying it welcomed a science-based probe but rejected any political manipulation.
In a report released Thursday, WHO’s expert group said “key pieces of data” to explain how the pandemic began were still missing. The scientists said the group would “remain open to any and all scientific evidence that becomes available in the future to allow for comprehensive testing of all reasonable hypotheses.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his investigation of Twitter on Monday just hours after Musk, the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO, accused Twitter of refusing to disclose the extent of its spam bot and fake accounts.
The confidence vote follows "anger" over senior civil servant Sue Gray's report detailing lockdown "rule-breaking" in Downing Street. As Johnson survived the confidence vote, he will now stay in his job as Prime Minister.