Maharashtra: Doctors Resign, Protest As Pressure Mounts On Shiv Sena Over Dombivli Assault
The Kalyan court also dismissed police’s application to allow Mhatre to appear for a hearing via video conferencing because of ill health: Reports
MUMBAI: Amidst the outrage caused by the assault on two doctors and other staff members at a Dombivli hospital, pressure is mounting on the Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena to remove the main accused and corporator Ramesh Mhatre from his post.
On Thursday, a section of doctors, medical officers, nurses and hospital staff from the Thane District Government Hospital, where Mhatre has been admitted following complaints of chest pain, staged a demonstration within the hospital premises. Wearing black bands as a mark of protest, they demanded the immediate removal of Mhatre from the post of corporator.
The Kalyan court also dismissed police’s application to allow Mhatre to appear for a hearing via video conferencing because of ill health. The court rejected the application and said Mhatre must be produced before it physically. The judge made it clear that neither police nor judicial custody would be granted till this is done.
Meanwhile, the two doctors - medical officer Dr Vaibhav Salunkhe and resident medical officer Dr. Srishti Baviskar - who were assaulted by a Shiv Sena corporator and his aides, have resigned from service. Their family members said they were receiving threats and were concerned about doctors’ safety at the hospital.
Mhatre had carried out the assault on a group of medical staff at Dombivli's Shastri Nagar Hospital, run by the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation.
The row had started after two doctors advised the relatives to shift a newborn to another facility as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital was full. The relatives then approached Mhatre, who arrived at the hospital with his associates and the matter escalated from there. A video showed the men assaulting two doctors, including a woman, and other staff members.
Following public outrage after the video of the attack was widely circulated, Mhatre was arrested on Wednesday. But he was admitted to the Thane Civil Hospital soon after on health grounds, sparking allegations of preferential treatment.
However, Mhatre refused to apologise for the incident. Instead, he denied assaulting the doctor despite the CCTV footage. When questioned about the video, he claimed he had only hit the doctor's hand to stop her from using her phone because “she was not listening” to his complaint.
