Two doctors assaulted by Shiv Sena corporator resign from civic-run hospital

Thane, Jul 9 (PTI) The two doctors, who were allegedly assaulted by a Shiv Sena corporator and his aides at a civic-run hospital in Thane district, have resigned from service, an official said on Thursday. The two doctors, including a woman, were under immense psychological trauma following the physical assault, their colleagues and family members said. A video that went viral on social media showed local Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre slapping and punching a helpless doctor and banging a register on his head. He is also seen hitting a female doctor on her hand. The incident, which occurred at the Shastri Nagar Hospital run by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) on Monday evening, sparked massive outrage. The two victims - medical officer Dr Vaibhav Salunkhe and resident medical officer Dr Srishti Baviskar - had on Monday evening advised the relatives of a newborn to shift the baby to another facility due to lack of space in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the local hospital. Angered by this, the relatives contacted the corporator, who arrived with his aides and assaulted the doctors. Dr Salunkhe suffered injuries in the incident. While the corporator was arrested on Wednesday night, his three aides were held on Tuesday. KDMC Medical Health Officer Dr Deepa Shukla said that Dr Salunkhe and Dr Baviskar, who were working at the hospital following their appointment through an outsourced agency, have submitted their resignations to the firm. "Both doctors were appointed through an outsourcing agency. Even if they have tendered their resignations, they must have submitted them directly to their controlling agency. Their official paperwork has not reached our department yet," she said. Efforts to establish a direct contact with the two doctors were unsuccessful. According to their colleagues, the assaulted doctors were deeply shaken following the incident. One of their colleagues said, "Our parents spent their hard-earned money and efforts to educate us so that we could regularly serve ordinary and poor patients. It is shocking and completely unendurable for an outsider to barge into a hospital wing and physically assault us while we are treating patients." The family members of Dr Baviskar said they were concerned about doctors' safety at the hospital. PTI COR NP