On Wednesday evening, 8th June, Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre surrendered before the Thane police in connection with the attack on doctors and hospital staff at the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation’s Shastri Nagar Hospital. Police arrested him after his surrender, making him the fourth person held in the case. Earlier in the day, three of his associates were also arrested.
Police said Mhatre was taken for a medical examination and will be produced before a local court. They are expected to seek his custody for further investigation.
Hours before his arrest, Shiv Sena MP Dr Shrikant Eknath Shinde said the party would not protect anyone involved in the violence. He said strict action would be taken against those found guilty and added that Mhatre should apologise if he had behaved badly with the doctors.
Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam also condemned the incident, saying violence against doctors cannot be accepted. He said the government would investigate the matter and urged people to approach authorities instead of taking the law into their own hands.
Mhatre defends himself
Before surrendering, Mhatre expressed regret over the incident but denied hitting the woman doctor. He claimed that the CCTV footage showed only one angle and said he had only tapped her hand because she was busy on the phone while he was trying to raise the family’s concerns. He also said he addressed the doctor informally because he considered her “like a daughter.”
According to Mhatre, he had gone to the hospital after receiving a call from the family of a pregnant woman who was advised to shift to another hospital because there were no beds available in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Background of the case
The incident took place on 6th July after a dispute over the shortage of NICU beds. Hospital officials said doctors informed the patient’s family that the newborn might require NICU care, but all beds were occupied, so they suggested moving to another hospital.
Soon after, Mhatre and his supporters reached the hospital. CCTV footage showed them, including the Shiv Sena leader, punching and slapping doctors and staff for more than three minutes. A woman doctor was also seen trying to call for help before Mhatre struck her from behind, causing her phone to fall.
When confronted with the video, Ramesh Mhatre claimed that he only “slapped her phone as she was not listening to us. I only tried to get her off the phone,
The video sparked widespread public anger. Doctors and nurses launched protests demanding better security and stricter action. While doctors are continuing services wearing black ribbons, nurses have warned of stronger protests if action is not taken.
