TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: After inaugurating India’s first and largest mass disaster medical infrastructure, Goa Medical College will become the first hospital to have separate medical examination halls for rape victim and accused.
The Clinical Forensic Medicine Division – a part of the newly inaugurated Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Faculty and Mortuary Block at GMC, will be functional in the next couple of weeks.
“In many cases, the victim and accused are brought together (by the police) for medical examination, and presently the forensic block has one medical examination hall making it difficult to examine them simultaneously… This won’t happen once the separate facilities are functional. It will also ensure that both don’t encounter each other,” Dr Madhu Ghodkirekar, assistant professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, who oversaw the project told Herald. “This facility is the first of its kind in the country.”
During the test, two panels of doctors could also be roped in for examining the victim and accused separately.
Dr Ghodkirekar informed that the facility has victim-friendly atmosphere including a changing room and a separate counselling centre where her statement could be recorded without visiting the police station, unlike the current practice.
The specially designed sexual assault crisis centre will be equipped with evidence gathering materials such as swab guard boxes and another for collecting DNA samples, scissors and paper bags to collect clothes.
On December 19, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Faculty and Mortuary Block with a full-fledged forensic academic institute having a three-tier autopsy approach, was inaugurated. It also comprises an auditorium to accommodate 200 students, who will benefit from a live forensic autopsy, a research-oriented space where autopsies can be conducted on bodies from extreme emergency scenes and a scientifically designed room where doctors can practice on cadavers before any major transplants. The building also comprises a forensic science museum. The forensic department will soon be shifting to the new building.
