In January 2022, Dr. Gayatri Jaiswal was assaulted in her Bhayander clinic by a man posing as a patient seeking COVID‑19 test information. The attack caused multiple head injuries and theft of personal belongings. Police tracked the suspect across two states using CCTV footage, prior records, and call data, leading to his arrest in West Bengal. In October 2025, he was convicted under the IPC and the Prevention of Violence Against Doctors Act, receiving a seven‑year prison sentence. The case highlights the risks healthcare professionals face and the importance of security measures in clinics.
Although the verdict was delivered in October 2025, details of the judgment and sentencing have gained attention in early 2026 amid renewed concerns over violence against healthcare professionals.
On January 23, 2022, Dr. Gayatri Jaiswal, a physician practicing in Bhayander on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, was attacked in her own clinic by a man posing as a patient seeking information about COVID-19 testing prior to travel abroad. The attacker struck her multiple times on the head with a blunt instrument and stole valuables including her mobile phone and jewelry. Dr. Jaiswal was found severely injured by clinic staff and taken to a hospital for medical care. She reported nine head wounds from a blunt object on examination and remained under treatment for eight days before discharge.
According to her statement to police, the suspect initially visited her clinic to ask about RT-PCR test procedures required for travel and was advised to return with valid identification such as an Aadhaar card. Later in the day, when Dr. Jaiswal attended other patients and the clinic was less crowded, the same man allegedly returned carrying a hammer and assaulted her before seizing personal belongings worth approximately ₹93,000.
Because the clinic lacked its own surveillance system, investigators relied on CCTV footage from a neighboring building that captured the suspect’s movements. Initial inquiries in the local area did not yield the attacker’s identity. Police then reviewed earlier cases with similar patterns, finding a 2021 incident where a suspect had used a hammer in an attack and escaped with cash and jewelry. Using this information, investigators linked the new incident to Rashid Khan of prior records.
Police traced phone call records and other technical data associated with Khan, which led them first to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and then to West Bengal. On February 4, 2022, law enforcement located and arrested him in West Bengal and transported him back to Maharashtra for trial. During the investigation, officers reported recovering the hammer believed to have been used in the assault and some jewellery sold by the accused to a goldsmith, whose statement was recorded.
In the subsequent trial before the Thane Court, prosecutors examined 14 witnesses, including Dr. Jaiswal, another patient present at the clinic, medical examiners, and the goldsmith linked to the recovered jewelry evidence. The defense raised objections to the handling of the weapon and questioned the provenance of the jewelry, arguing lack of definitive linkage to the crime. The court, however, concluded that the aggregated evidence, including victim identification and witness testimonies, sufficed to support conviction.
On October 31, 2025, the court delivered its verdict, finding Khan guilty under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including Section 452 (trespass) and Section 397 (robbery with attempt to cause grievous hurt), as well as provisions of the Prevention of Violence Against Doctors, Medical Professionals and Medical Institutions Act, 2019, enacted to address violence against healthcare providers. Khan received a seven-year prison sentence.
(Rh/SS)
