Kothagudem doctor arrested for allegedly raping Dalit woman patient

Police in Kothagudem have arrested a 39-year-old orthopaedic doctor accused of sexually assaulting a Dalit woman patient. The woman alleges he exploited her medical dependency and promised marriage. He was remanded to judicial custody following a complaint and police investigation

Kothagudem: Chunchupalli police in Kothagudem district have arrested a doctor for allegedly raping a Dalit woman patient under the pretext of providing medical treatment.

According to Kothagudem DSP L Adinarayana, the 39-year-old accused, Dr Nadikudi Shailesh Kumar, works as an orthopaedic doctor at Sri Krishna Multi-Specialty Hospital in Vidyanagar Colony, Kothagudem.

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Based on the woman’s complaint, the doctor was taken into custody on October 15. After the necessary legal procedures were completed, he was formally arrested. He was subsequently produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody, the DSP added.

According to the FIR, the woman stated in her complaint that she first consulted the doctor in June 2022, when he was working at a private hospital near the Ganesh Temple area in Kothagudem. She later continued consulting him at Sri Krishna Multi-Specialty Hospital, which he established in October 2022.

The woman alleged that the doctor performed spinal surgery on her at the hospital in April 2023. She further alleged that he took advantage of her medical condition and dependence on him as a doctor to sexually assault her several times. She said she trusted him because he had promised to marry her after the conclusion of a divorce case he was facing.

She further alleged that Dr Shailesh Kumar continued the sexual relationship against her wishes, even when she objected because of the pain she was experiencing following the surgery. When she recently asked him to marry her, he allegedly refused and made casteist remarks.

Police registered an FIR under Sections 115(2) and 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.