Doctor says, Shabir made advances after summoning her to secretariat
SRINAGAR: Minister of State for Health Shabir Ahmad Khan stepped down from his post Friday after facing charges of molestation by a senior government doctor.
Khan, a Congress legislator, was asked by his party to step down on Friday, after police registered a case of sexual assault against him on Thursday on the directions of a city court following a complaint from a senior lady doctor.
A Raj Bhawan spokesman late in the evening said that the Governor N N Vohra has accepted the ministers resignation after being forwarded by the chief minister.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Central Kashmir, Afhadul Mujtaba said that police registered a case after a female doctor complained that she was molested by the minister in his office cabin. Police has started investigating the matter and the accused will be arrested, he said.
According to reports, Police Station Shaheed Gunj registered a case under Section 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with the intention to outrage modesty of a woman) and 509 (act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the RPC only after the intervention of Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar.
A police statement issued late Friday said the woman submitted a written complaint on Thursday afternoon in the Police Station Shaheed Gunj wherein it was alleged that Shabir Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Health made provocative advances towards her and tried to molest her on 28.01.2014 at Civil Secretariat in a room adjacent to his office chamber.
On this the police lodged a case FIR no. 09 U/S 354, 509 RPC dated 06.02.2014 and investigation has been taken up.
The spokesman of the state Congress, Ravinder Sharma told reporters in Jammu that law will take its own course.
The lady doctor, (Wife of a senior separatist leader) who is a block medical officer alleged that she received repeated calls from Health Ministers staff over a week ago. She was told that the minister wants to know about the announcements made by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad during his visit to the hospital where she works. Despite her requests that the minister should obtain the information from Director Haelth Services or other senior officials, the complainant said, she was compelled to report at the minister’s office on January 28.
Further, she alleged that when she reached the ministers office at the Secretariat, 10 to 15 people were already present there but Khan asked her to go and wait inside a small cabin. The woman said she refused to leave the office but the minister convinced her to sit inside the cabin. She was then asked to prepare Kehva for the minister. Complainant said she felt uncomfortable there.
When the minister came to meet her at the cabin, she said, he acted like a sexual predator” and made provocative advances, both verbal and physical. He also offered her many favours despite her resentment. She also said that Khan asked her to meet him at the Circuit House where he was staying.
Police sources said that Khan will be formally arrested at any time. There is possibility that he will surrender before the police and if he does not do so, then police will arrest him under rules, a police official said.
Sources said after coming out of the Ministers office, the victim straightway went to police with the complaint of molestation. The police told the doctor that they will look into the matter. However, after nine days when police didnt act, the doctor moved the court and got the directions for lodging FIR.
Despite repeated attempts, the accused minister could not be contacted. One report said he left for his Kishtwar, his home town soon after FIR was lodged against him.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice of High Court turned down the plea of the accused minister that his bail application be allowed to be filed before any court in Jammu as he was not in a position to take legal recourse at Srinagar.
Khan has no option except to move a bail application before a trial court or High Court in Srinagar where FIR has been lodged, officials said.
Khan is the third Congress minister to find himself on the wrong side of the law ever since the NC-Congress coalition came to power in 2009.
In 2010, Public Works Department Minister G.M. Saroori was forced to resign following reports that his daughter passed a medical college entrance exam by arranging a proxy candidate to write the papers.
In 2012 the then education minister Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed had to resign after the J&K Police Crime Branch booked him on charges of helping his son to qualify 10th class exam in 2009 through unfair means and impersonation.
Earlier too, in 2008, Sayeed quit as Education Minister amid allegations that he had received a Rs.40,000 bribe from the sister of a sitting legislator, Shoaib Lone.
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