AIIMS staffer held guilty of stalking woman security guard

An employee of AIIMS has been convicted for misbehaving and stalking a woman security guard deployed at the hospital, by a Delhi court which relied on victim's testimony and said non-inclusion of public witness is not necessarily fatal to the prosecution case.
Metropolitan Magistrate Niti Phutela held Naveen, a staff member of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), guilty of following and stalking the woman under section 354D of the IPC.
"The testimony of complainant is of utmost importance because she was the victim and she was in the best position to explain the chain of events which took place in her presence. In this regard, she remained firm in her testimony and no contradictions appeared in her cross-examination," the court said.

While convicting Naveen, who admitted he was drunk at the time of the incident, the court rejected his contention that no public witness was produced.
"Even if considering that public witnesses were there and they have not been cited, then also testimony of victim is very much reliable and is sufficient because she had withstood the rigours of cross-examination," it said.
"The accused himself admitted that he was drunk which further affirms the fact that he followed the complainant and asked her about her mobile number and address, despite her clear disinterest he again followed her. Therefore, all the essential ingredients of the offence are made out," it said.

The court is yet to pronounce the quantum of sentence to the convict. The offence of stalking under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) entails a maximum punishment of three years for the first conviction.

According to the prosecution, on the night of December 5, 2013, when the woman finished her duty, Naveen followed her till the gate of the hospital and tried to force her to give him her contact details.
When she refused, he abused her and did not stop following her, it said, after which he was apprehended by other security staff of AIIMS.
During the trial, Naveen had denied the allegation of stalking her and claimed he was falsely implicated.