The High Court yesterday directed police to arrest Saiful Islam, a staff nurse of United Hospital in Dhaka, for sexually harassing a female patient.

The court also issued a suomoto (of its own) rule on the government and the hospital authorities to explain in seven days why action should not be taken against Saiful and the hospital authorities and why they should not be punished.

Saiful allegedly abused the patient when she was lying unconscious in the post-operative intensive care unit (ICU). She had been admitted since Monday.

The assault was reported by the Bangla daily Jugantor yesterday, under the headline which translates as "female patient sexually harassed at United Hospital".

The HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman came up with the order and the rule following the report, Deputy Attorney General Tapas Kumar Biswas told The Daily Star.

The daily reported that when the victim called female nurses for help they arrived half an hour late and requested the woman not to disclose the matter to anyone.

The victim's husband said, “I was not allowed to meet my wife for as long as 16 hours after her operation.

“The hospital authorities did not hand the perpetrator over to police but rather advised me to file a case,” he added.

An official of the hospital said Saiful was already fired, according to the report.

Police were asked to produce Saiful before the court on December 7.