NRI doctor may lose medical license for sexual assaults

An NRI doctor, guilty of sexually assaulting two women patients during a medical check-up has been ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid community work, even as he faces cancellation of his practising license.
       
After the order was passed at the Basildon Crown Court this week, Rajinder Aggarwal, 54 is expected to be struck off the medical register by the General Medical Council (GMC), and prevented from practising in future.
       
Aggarwal who graduated from the Punjab University, Patiala, in 1987, has been given a nine-month "community order" by the court, which includes 80 hours of unpaid work and a requirement to be supervised by the Probation Service.
       
Judge Christopher Mitchell at the Basildon Crown Court also ordered him to pay 3,000 pounds towards court costs.
       
Noting the complains made by the patients, judge Mitchell told Aggarwal, "As far as their complaints were concerned, you acted perfectly properly in the way that you treated them but what you did, which was decidedly odd and immediately frightening for each of these women, was that you suddenly smacked their behinds."
 
Aggarwal was earlier found guilty of sexually assaulting the two women while working as a locum at the Aveley medical Centre in South Ockendon and Homerton Hospital in East London between December 2006 and January 2007.

The judge said the offences were aggravated by Aggarwal's position as a doctor and added there was an "overwhelming  likelihood" that it would lead to him being struck off the medical register by the GMC. He said this was a very severe punishment for a man in his position.

Judge Mitchell added, "For that reason...I have decided that the most appropriate punishment is a community order."
       
The first victim was reportedly attacked by Aggarwal on the first day he went to work at Aveley Medical Centre on 1 December 2006.

Aggarwal carried out a very similar attack on another patient at the Homerton Hospital on 28 January 2007. The victim, had gone to see Aggarwal because she was suffering pains in her chest.
    
A GMC spokesperson said Aggarwal's registration was currently suspended.