Thane: Three supporters of Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre have been arrested for an alleged assault on doctors at a Kalyan Dombivli hospital.
Mhatre has also been named in the FIR and the police have said that he will also be arrested soon, as reported by NDTV.
The corporator has denied the charges even as a video of the assault went viral and triggered an outrage. In the video, Mhatre is seen assaulting a female doctor and other staff.
Suhas Hemade, ACP, has said that police will move against the corporator and he will also be arrested.
The incident dates back to July 6 and there is growing outrage as no action has been taken against the Shiv Sena leader as yet. Coming under pressure, the Maharashtra government promised a probe and action against the corporator.
“Assaulting doctors is wrong. We will investigate the matter and take action. If someone has any issue, they must report to the authorities instead of
taking the law into their hands,” Maharashtra minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam said on Wednesday.
The dispute allegedly arose over the unavailability of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds, a hospital official said. The family of a pregnant woman in the hospital was informed by doctors that the newborn may need a NICU facility, but since all such beds in their hospital were occupied, the doctors asked them to consider taking her to another medical facility.
The corporator and his men then stepped in and began assaulting hospital staff. CCTV footage showed Mhatre and a group of men punching and slapping the hospital staff inside a room. The chaotic scene dragged on for over three minutes.
A woman doctor was seen trying to use her mobile phone amid the attack. She was also seen on camera struggling to stop the men from pressing on with their attack. When they tried to take her mobile phone, she stepped back behind a desk and tried to use the phone.
Mhatre is then seen hitting her with such force from behind that the phone falls off her hand. He then turns back to the other staff and continues the assault.
Mhatre, when speaking to NDTV, denied assaulting the woman doctor despite video evidence showing otherwise. He insisted that he only “slapped her phone as she was not listening to us. I only tried to get her off the phone,” Mhatre said.
He also refused to express regret over his actions, even as the hospital remains shut, with doctors and staff continuing their strike demanding security and action against the politician.