Law enforcers failed to arrest Saiful Islam, a staff nurse of United Hospital in Dhaka who was accused of sexually harassing a female patient, police informed the High Court today.

Rafiqul Islam, assistant commissioner of police (Gulshan zone), and Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station, told the HC that police launched several drives but they could not arrest Saiful.

Then, the HC court bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman asked the police officials to submit before it a report on the progress about arresting Saiful on January 6.

On December 3, the HC asked police to arrest Saiful for sexually harassing the female patient and asked him to produce before the court on December 7.

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 last Monday.

The assault was reported by the Bangla daily Jugantor on December 3, under the headline which translates as "female patient sexually harassed at United Hospital".

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.