Sena corporator 'assaults' doctors in Thane, Oppn targets CM; MP Shrikant Shinde condemns attack

Mumbai/Thane, Jul 8 (PTI) A ruling Shiv Sena corporator and his associates allegedly assaulted two doctors and other staff at a hospital in Maharashtra's Thane district after a family was advised to shift a newborn to another facility, police said on Wednesday. While the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) targeted the government, asking if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would tolerate such "hooliganism", ruling Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, a doctor himself, condemned the attack and said strict action would be taken against those found guilty. The incident that occurred at the civic-run hospital in Kalyan on Monday evening was captured on a video, which later went viral on social media. The video purportedly showed the Sena corporator, Ramesh Sukrya Mhatre, hitting the doctors. 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. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is an ally of the BJP in the state Mahayuti government. Latching on to the incident, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, in a post on X, asked if CM Fadnavis will tolerate this "goondagiri" of his ally? "Will he arrest the goon of mindhe gang and dismiss him from his seat of Corporator? Or does he send out a signal to not just doctors and nurses but to everyone that Maharashtra sees such lawlessness and is ok with it," Thackeray said. Shiv Sena's Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde, however, said the assault on doctors and medical staff is highly condemnable. "As a doctor myself, I know that patient service is not merely a job but a service to humanity. In extremely adverse and stressful conditions, doctors, nurses, and other health workers labour day and night for the public's service," he said in a post on X. A case has been registered in connection with this incident. No one who takes the law into their own hands will be spared, and strict action will be taken against the guilty as per the law, he assured. "The party's stance on this matter is also clear. The party will not support any individual involved in this attack. Strict disciplinary action will also be taken within the party against those found guilty," the MP said. "As a public representative and a doctor, I stand firmly with all doctors, nurses, and medical staff at KDMC Hospital. We must all respect their safety, dignity, and right to provide service fearlessly," he added. According to the police, the incident occurred at the Shastri Nagar Hospital, run by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC). Doctors Srishti Bawiskar and Vaibhav Salunkhe had advised the relatives of a newborn to shift the baby to another facility due to a lack of space in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of their hospital. Angered by this, the relatives contacted the corporator, who went to the hospital and allegedly abused and hit the doctors. Dr Salunkhe suffered injuries in the incident. KDMC Medical Health Officer Dr Deepa Shukla, along with the medical staff, approached the police late Monday night, but the case was not lodged then. The video capturing the assault went viral on social media on Tuesday afternoon. The public and medical bodies criticised the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena for allegedly shielding the corporator. Demanding the immediate arrest of Mhatre and his associates, the hospital workers staged a "work-stop" protest on Tuesday. A delegation of IMA Kalyan and Dombivli units' representatives and leaders of the civic workers union met KDMC Commissioner Abhinav Goyal. The IMA representatives also threatened to shut down all private clinics and hospitals in the region on Wednesday if an FIR was not registered. They also demanded the immediate arrest of the corporator and his supporters. A case was subsequently registered against the corporator, his four male supporters, and a woman 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), police said. Assistant Commissioner of Police Suhas Nemade told reporters that a probe was underway into the incident and no one has been arrested as yet. PTI COR PR GK GK