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A hospital pharmacy technician has been struck off after the regulator found he had sexually harassed two former colleagues.

Pharmacy technician Neelkanth Gupta was removed from the General Pharmaceutical Council register following a hearing that took place over dates in May and June this year.

The FtP committee considered evidence from two former colleagues, who were referred to as Colleague A and Colleague B during the proceedings.

Colleague B said that on several occasions between June 2012 and July 2014, Mr Gupta had invaded her personal space at work through actions such as putting his hands on her waist, pulling her towards his body and touching her face.

She also alleged that on one occasion he told her we wanted to rip her dress off, or words to that effect.

Mr Gupta did not attend the hearing. In a written statement provided to the FtP committee, he accepted he may have moved colleagues by the waist but denied touching Colleague B’s face, and said it was “ridiculous” to suggest he would have made the alleged comment regarding removing her dress.

However, the FtP committee said it preferred the more “consistent” account provided by Colleague B, adding that it could see any motivation for her to lie about the events in question.

In the case of colleague A, Mr Gupta was alleged to have engaged in a similar pattern of behaviour involving unwanted touching on dates in September 2022.

Colleague A told the FtP hearing that on September 23, 2022, Mr Gupta put his hand on her waist, and that three days later he escalated this behaviour by putting his hand inside her clothing, touching her breast and pressing his genitals into her back.

Colleague A also alleged that on September 26, 2022, Mr Gupta pulled down her face mask and kissed her, also saying to her ‘If you complete this medicine reconciliation, then can I get a kiss?’ or words to that effect.

As with Colleague B, while Mr Gupta denied engaging in most of the alleged behaviour – he acknowledged having kissed Colleague A on the cheek and said she had been wearing a PPE mask at the time – the FtP committee found Colleague A’s account more credible and consistent than his.

The FtP committee ultimately found all particulars against Mr Gupta proved, barring those that alleged he had intentionally sought to humiliate or degrade Colleague B through unwanted touching.

The committee found that although his misconduct was “potentially remediable,” there was little evidence of insight on Mr Gupta’s part. It also considered that there was a high risk of the behaviour being repeated, noting that after being told to respect female colleagues’ personal space he went on to engage in further harassment.

It decided to remove his name from the register, imposing an interim suspension order during the three-month appeal period.

Related: Pharmacist in Scotland who sexually assaulted two patients struck off register

Pharmacist struck off for opiate theft and ‘sexualised banter’