By Alan Selph - News Nation - 29.08.2024 - [USA] - [Sudesh Banaji]
One of the alleged victims of a Forrest City doctor accused of sexually assaulting his patients was relieved to hear he had been arrested but said she is still suffering from the ordeal.
The victim, who we are not identifying, shared her story with NesNation affiliate WREG.
Dr. Sudesh Banaji, 60, was arrested by agents with the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division on Monday.
He’s facing seven felony charges, including six counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of rape.
According to investigators, Banaji made inappropriate sexual contact with female patients during examinations at his Forrest City clinic in August 2023.
“When I saw it (Banaji’s arrest), I said they got that [explicative],” said an alleged victim. “My legs were open, and he scooted his chair up to me while my shirt was down. And I pulled my shirt back up,“ said the alleged victim.
She says things got worse.
“I can’t. I’ll get all into the details, and I’ll get emotional,” said the alleged victim. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
She says the experience left her feeling violated, and he invaded her privacy.
Dr. Banaji was arrested by state police and released on a $35,000 bond — an amount the alleged victim calls a ‘slap in the face.’
“It should have been higher than that. That’s something all of us women have to deal with for the rest of our lives,” said the alleged victim. “I mean, that’s a slap on the wrist, and you bond out in two to three minutes? A person with a drug paraphernalia bond is higher than that,“ said the woman.
“Right now, it makes me sleep by myself,” she said. “Yes, even though I’m married, I sleep by myself because I feel uncomfortable. And that’s sad.”
The woman says she’s speaking out on behalf of all the women, accusing Dr. Banaji of inappropriate behavior.
“You might’ve thought that no one would turn you in, but it’s over,” said the alleged victim. “And to all the women that this also happened to, it’s over. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.“
Banaji’s clinic was still operating yesterday, with patients seemingly unaware of the allegations against him.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm.