Rapist doctor who gagged victim and threatened her with scissors is struck off

A doctor who violently raped a woman and then threatened to release a video of the attack said he was not interested in the outcome of a medical tribunal – and wants to quit the UK “due to stressful personal events”.

Vibhor Garg (pictured), who was branded “selfish” as he was jailed for 11 years, has been immediately banned from working in medicine by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel, which said his behaviour undermined patients’ and the public’s trust in the profession.

But the 37-year-old, who qualified from the University of Baroda in India, said in a letter to the panel: “I am not interested in (the) outcome of the case as I will be deported out (of) the country at the end of my sentence.

“I no longer wish to stay and practice medicine in the UK, even if given the opportunity, due to stressful personal events … I do not wish to attend hearing.”

Garg, formerly of King Street in Wigan, forced himself on his victim during the night in Sheffield while staying at the same address as her, South Yorkshire Police said.

Pinning her down, he threatened her with scissors, gagged her with tape across her mouth and tried to tie her hands behind her back, the force added.

He was arrested the next day but bailed pending further inquiries after denying the attack, the medical tribunal was told.

Garg then began repeatedly contacting his victim, who cannot legally be named, saying he would release a recording of the rape and kill himself if she did not withdraw her allegation, the panel heard.

The training fellow in orthopaedics was found and arrested in Bournemouth last September, charged and remanded, police said.

He was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court in February after pleading guilty to rape, oral rape and perverting the course of justice, the force added.

The medical tribunal cited the sentencing remarks of the judge, who told Garg: “This was not a random, spur-of-the-moment incident.

“This was not you just looking at her and deciding, ‘I’m having my way’.

“This was far, far more than that.

“You grabbed hold of her. You then tried to bind her. You tried to stop her from being able to scream by taping her mouth. You tried to blindfold her, and then you raped her.”

The judge added: “It’s difficult to see, from any point of view, how when a woman is crying and pleading for her mum, as (the victim) has graphically described in her statement to the court, how anyone can get pleasure under those circumstances but, you did, because you continued.”

The judge, who said “the selfish nature of all of (Garg’s) activities is utterly deplorable”, said the woman did not know if the attack was really videoed but “the fear of that is terrifying to her”.

Speaking after the sentencing, investigating officer Pc Natasha Dawson praised Garg’s victim.

She said: “This was an extremely violent incident and distressing, and the bravery she has shown throughout has been commendable.”

A spokesperson for the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where Garg was employed, said he was “absent from work when the trust was made aware of the allegations and never returned”.

They said: “The trust immediately reported Dr Garg to the GMC (General Medical Council) and he was subsequently dismissed in line with the trust’s disciplinary policy.”

Copyright (c) PA Media Ltd. 2023, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) South Yorkshire Police.