Air steward says she was sexually assaulted while on ventilator in hospital

An air steward in India has alleged that she was sexually assaulted as she lay in a semi-conscious state on a ventilator in a hospital.

The woman, 46, from West Bengal state said that she was training in Gurugram, a tech hub adjoining the national capital Delhi, and nearly drowned in a swimming pool.

She was admitted to the Medanta hospital on 5 April and underwent emergency treatment for over a week. While she was on ventilator support on 6 April, the woman said in a complaint to police, she was assaulted by a ward staffer.

The woman alleged that there were two nurses in her ICU room, but they did not intervene to stop the attack.

“She wasn’t in a condition to speak or resist the man’s advances because of her weakened condition,” the complaint read.

The woman told her husband about the assault when she was discharged after six days. The couple then filed the complaint, according to the Indian Express.

Police have launched an investigation.

“The team has collected CCTV camera footage from the hospital and is questioning employees who may have interacted with the patient during her stay,” Gaurav, Gurugram deputy commissioner of police who goes by his first name, said.

In a statement, the Medanta hospital said they were cooperating with the police investigation. “We have been made aware of a complaint from a patient and have been fully cooperating with the investigations conducted by the relevant authorities,” it said.

“At this stage, no allegations have been substantiated, and all relevant documents, including CCTV footage from the hospital for the time period in question, have been handed over to the police.”

According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau data, India reported 445,256 cases of crime against women in 2022, a 4 per cent increase from the previous year. This translated to about 51 formal complaints every hour, but women's groups said the number was likely far higher as many cases went unreported.