Maharashtra: Shiv Sena Palghar Chief Arrested Over Doctor Assault, Expelled From Party
Gharat was among a group of 15 to 20 people who allegedly entered the casualty ward and intensive care unit of Relief Hospital: Reports
MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Monday expelled its Palghar district chief Rahul Gharat even as he was arrested in connection with an alleged assault at a private hospital in Palghar. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the party had taken the action because it would not tolerate attacks on doctors or hospital staff.
Gharat was among a group of 15 to 20 people who allegedly entered the casualty ward and intensive care unit of Relief Hospital in the early hours of Sunday following a dispute over the treatment of Dahi Handi participants. The group was reportedly seeking payment-related relief for injured govindas.
According to the police, Gharat allegedly slapped a hospital staff member during the confrontation. Palghar district Shiv Sena chief Kundan Sankhe and others allegedly threatened doctors and forcibly took away a patient who was receiving intravenous fluids.
Mr. Shinde condemned the incident and said any grievance over medical treatment should have been addressed through legal channels.
“Assaulting doctors or other hospital staff is unacceptable under any circumstances. Shiv Sena will never support such incidents,” he said. If there had been negligence or misconduct in the treatment of a patient, a complaint should have been lodged instead of taking the law into one’s own hands, he added.
Palghar police station Inspector Kishor Mahanubhav said Gharat was arrested and produced before a magistrate, who remanded him in police custody for a day. An FIR has been registered against 17 people, including Gharat, Sankhe and Rohit, the son of local MLA Rajendra Gavit.
The episode is the second recent instance of a Shiv Sena functionary facing action over an alleged assault on medical staff.
On July 6, Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre was accused of assaulting doctors at the civic-run Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli following a dispute over an alleged delay in treating a woman patient. Mhatre and others had gone to the hospital and allegedly assaulted doctors after the argument.
The party subsequently expelled Mhatre. He remained in custody until August 7 after the Bombay High Court set aside the bail granted to him by a lower court.
