Thane: A 24-year-old ward boy allegedly molested a female patient undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhiwandi town of Thane district, police said on Tuesday.

The ward boy working at the hospital, Mehboob Aasmohammad Alam, was arrested on Monday, hours after the incident, said senior inspector Mahado Kumbhar of the Bhiwandi town police station.

According to the inspector, the 20-year-old patient was admitted to the ICU ward of the hospital after she complained of stomach infection.

At around 4 am on September 9, the accused entered the female patient's ward and touched her inappropriately, police said.

The accused also proposed her for marriage, they said.

Based on a complaint by the victim, police registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 74 (assault or use of criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and arrested the accused, said Kumbhar.

A probe into the crime was underway, he added.