Kalyan doctor assault case: Shiv Sena corporator Mhatre and his 3 aides remanded to judicial custody

Thane, Jul 13 (PTI) A court in Thane district of Maharashtra on Monday remanded Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and three of his associates to judicial custody, days after they were arrested for allegedly assaulting doctors and medical staff at a civic-run hospital. Due to heavily crowded court premises, the local magistrate in Kalyan conducted the proceedings via video conferencing. The counsel for the accused immediately moved a bail application, which the court will take up at a later date. Mhatre and his aides were arrested for allegedly assaulting doctors and nurses at a civic-run hospital in Dombivli on the night of July 6. The incident at the civic-run hospital in Kalyan on Monday evening sparked widespread outrage after a video became viral. Mhatre and his aides allegedly assaulted two doctors and other staff after a family was advised to shift a newborn to another facility. A case was registered against Mhatre and five others on Tuesday night, following public outrage and pressure from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which threatened to shut clinics and hospitals in the area if immediate action was not taken. Meanwhile, members of the Kalyan Courts Bar Association on Monday wore black ribbons to protest against the local police. The advocates accused the police of driving them out of the courtroom during a related remand hearing on July 10 and threatening them with criminal cases under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for "obstructing police work." Advocate Prakash Jagtap, president of the Kalyan Courts Bar Association, alleged that Mhatre was extended "VIP treatment" by police. The association has submitted a memorandum to the Principal District and Sessions Judge, as well as the Bombay High Court, raising four key demands, including an apology and suspension of a senior police inspector who allegedly threatened lawyers. PTI COR NSK