RAHIM YAR KHAN: A young doctor of the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) has been suspended from service on charges of sexually assaulting a nurse.

A charge nurse (name withheld to protect victim’s privacy) of the neurosurgical intensive care unit had filed an application with the nursing superintendent on Oct 12, alleging that when she was on duty on the night of Oct 9, a medical officer (name withheld) tried to take her to his room. When she resisted, the suspect forced her and she had to call her colleague staff nurse who saved her from the sexual assault, the victim said.

The staff nurses of the hospital held a protest outside the principal’s office against the incident.

SZMCH spokesman Prof Dr Burhan Mustafa told Dawn the service of the suspect, who was working on a contract basis in the anesthesia department, had been placed under suspension. He said an inquiry committee, comprising Dr Masoodul Haq, head of pulmonology, Dr Shoaib Anwar, associate professor neurosurgical department, Dr Gul Iftikharul Hassan, Dr Shazia Parveen and nursing superintendent Asmat Batool, had been constituted to probe into the matter and submit a detailed report to the principal within two days.

ARRESTED: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has arrested former chief engineer irrigation of Bahawalpur on Monday.

ACE Bahawalpur Director Imran Raza told a press conference that a case was registered on Oct 1 against the suspect. He told that a contract of ‘rehabilitation of irrigation system at Dallas canal division RYK’ with estimated cost of Rs1bn was illegally approved with tendered cost of Rs823m.

The contractor received Rs123m in advance and did not execute the work at site after lapse of more than 1.5 years. He said Waqar Hussain, chief engineer irrigation department of Bahawalpur, in connivance with the contractor, had approved the tender without obtaining additional performance security of amount Rs164m and later on provided aid to the contractor to skip his obligation under the contract agreement.

Last night, ACE Deputy Director Syed Ayub Bukhari with ACE employee Rana Zeshan and Constable Yasir Iqbal arrested Waqar from Gujranwala.

ROAD BLOCK: An overloaded tractor-trolley overturned on Rahim Yar Khan-Iqbalabad road, some 9km from here.

The vehicle, loaded with cotton seed, blocked the traffic and caused difficulties for the motorists.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2018