An Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada has been barred from medical practice for two years by the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) for alleged sexual harassment of post-graduate medical students.
The APMC took action against Jonnalagadda Balachandradu, 55, after it investigated a complaint by a group of 15 students.
“A decision has been taken by the general body of the APMC to remove Dr. Balachandradu from the medical register for a period of two years,” APMC chairman E. Ravinder Reddy told The Hindu on Thursday.
“Our action is based on a report from the APMC Ethics Committee which was ratified by the Executive Committee.”
The students had complained against Dr. Balachandradu to the head of the Department of Dermatology S. Nageswaramma in September 2014.
They are said to have produced evidence of sexual harassment by him, which took place over a period of one year and ranged from seeking sexual favours to indecent acts during demonstration classes.
The Guntur Medical College conducted an inquiry and submitted a report to the Director of Medical Education, who revoked the deputation and repatriated Dr. Balachandradu to GGH, Vijayawada.
“We recorded the statements of the students as well as the professor. The students produced some incriminating evidence in the form of voice recordings of conversations with the professor. It has been proved that he is guilty of charges of sexual harassment,” Dr. Reddy said.
Two other similar complaints
Apart from the case of Dr. Balachandradu, the APMC had received two complaints of sexual harassment from medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
A criminal case has been filed against a professor in Kurnool, and a similar charge was levelled against a professor in Adilabad, but the latter was exonerated after the charges were not proven.
APMC takes action against Prof. Jonnalagadda Balachandradu after its probe into a complaint by a group of 15 students
