Sena corporator accused of assaulting doctors hospitalised after arrest; victims resign

Thane, Jul 9 (PTI) Soon after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting two doctors at a civic-run hospital in the district, Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre was hospitalised for 'chest pain', officials said on Thursday. Amid widespread condemnation of Monday evening's incident at the Shastri Nagar hospital of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), the two doctors Mhatre is accused of assaulting have tendered their resignations, their colleagues said. Healthcare services in civic and private hospitals in Kalyan-Dombivali belt resumed on Thursday following a strike called to protest the alleged assault. Staff members at the Thane District Civil Hospital, where Mhatre was admitted after his arrest on Wednesday night, staged a protest against him outside the hospital and sought his immediate disqualification as a corporator. While Mhatre was admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU), medical officers, nurses and administrative personnel gathered outside the premises and shouted slogans demanding that attacks on doctors must stop and healthcare workers should be provided security. Dr Dheeraj S Mahangade, Additional District Civil Surgeon, condemned the assault, but said the hospital would fulfill its medical duty (of treating the corporator). Mhatre has only one kidney and suffers from high blood pressure, Dr Mahangade said, adding that he was expected to be discharged by Thursday evening or Friday morning. "As doctors, providing treatment is our duty, but under no circumstances can an attack on medical professionals be justified," he said. Whether a public representative would tolerate an assault by their own constituents, asked Dr Mahangade. A viral video showed Mhatre slapping and punching Dr Vaibhav Salunkhe and hitting resident medical officer Dr Srishti Baviskar on her hand at the Shastri Nagar Hospital on Monday evening. The doctors had advised the relatives of a newborn to shift the baby to another facility due to lack of space in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Angered by this, the relatives contacted the corporator, who arrived with his aides and assaulted the doctors. KDMC Medical Health Officer Dr Deepa Shukla said that Dr Salunkhe and Dr Baviskar have submitted their resignations to the private agency through which they had been appointed. While the two doctors could not be contacted, one of their colleagues confirmed the development. Both were deeply shaken following the incident, the colleague said. Family members of Dr Baviskar said they were concerned about doctors' safety at the hospital. A court in Kalyan has directed the police to produce Mhatre before it immediately upon his discharge, a senior police official said. The directive came after the Kalyan police appraised the magistrate of Mhatre's current medical condition. " The magistrate directed us to present him for further orders once the doctors declare him fit for discharge," the senior Kalyan police official told PTI. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, reprimanded Mhatre over the incident, senior party leader and state Industries Minister Uday Samant said. "Our party’s stand is very clear. It is inappropriate to hit a woman doctor. Many in the Shiv Sena, as well as the state health minister, have stressed that such an assault was wrong,” said Samant. "There was no political intervention, which means we are not endorsing his actions,” Samant told reporters at the state legislature complex. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray demanded stringent action against Mhatre, saying he should be stripped of all party and public posts. "When we were in power, we removed (MLA of undivided Shiv Sena) Sanjay Rathod from the post of minister (following a controversy over a Pune woman's suicide). Mhatre's video (of assault) has also surfaced. He has used extremely foul language and should face strict action," Thackeray said. He also said the corporator's prompt hospitalisation after his arrest raised questions over the functioning of the Home Department which is headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Besides Mhatre, three of his associates have also been arrested in the case. They, along with a woman supporter, have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(1) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 189(2) (unlawful assembly) and 191(2) (rioting). PTI COR ND NR NP RSY KRK