In a significant development in the Thane hospital assault case, a court in Kalyan on Thursday dismissed an application seeking to allow Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre to appear via video conferencing, citing ill health, directing that he be produced physically before the court.
Mhatre, who was arrested on Wednesday for assaulting two doctors and other staff members at a hospital in Dombivli along with his aides, was admitted to Thane Civil Hospital soon after his arrest, as his health allegedly deteriorated suddenly. Doctors stated that the 73-year-old corporator, who has only one kidney, was being treated in the ICU under expert supervision. He reportedly complained of increased blood pressure and frequent vomiting.
The police today filed an application before the court to allow Mhatre to be produced through video conferencing, citing his medical condition. Police told Judicial Magistrate First Class KS Katkade that Mhatre was suffering from high blood pressure, kidney-related ailments and had vomited twice since morning, making it difficult to bring him to court. Mhatre’s defence team also made the same request. They further sought police custody till Friday so that all the accused could be produced together.
However, the court rejected the request and said Mhatre must be produced before it physically.
The judge made it clear that neither police nor judicial custody would be granted till he is physically presented in the court. Notably, Ramesh Mhatre is not in police custody, he is in the confinement of the police while he is undergoing treatment at the hospital after his arrest.
Doctors said a medical bulletin on the corporator’s condition will be issued by Thursday evening or Friday morning, and a decision on a possible discharge will be taken only after that.
The incident occurred on Monday when Mhatre and his associates stormed into the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation’s Shastri Nagar Hospital following a complaint from a family about their newborn being referred elsewhere due to a lack of a vacant NICU bed. A video of the assault, which went viral, showed Mhatre and his aides manhandling doctors, including a woman doctor, and hospital staff.
On Wednesday evening, Ramesh Mhatre surrendered before the Thane police, and he was arrested soon after that. Earlier in the day, three of his associates were also arrested. Following his arrest, he was admitted to Thane Civil Hospital after he reportedly complained of chest pain and a spike in blood pressure.
The assault sparked widespread outrage, with the affected doctors reporting threats, and subsequently, one of them resigned due to fear. Mhatre had claimed that he didn’t assault the female doctor, only removed her phone, but the video shows him clearing slapping on her hand, causing her phone to fall. He has showed no remorse and claimed he only tried to help the family.
