Police arrested Corporator Ramesh Mhatre of the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena political party on Wednesday. Law enforcement detained the Shiv Sena leader from his residence due to his alleged connection with the Dombivli Assault case, as per NDTV reports.
The Shiv Sena corporator was caught on camera assaulting two doctors and hospital staff at a civic hospital in Kalyan-Dombivli with his supporters on Monday. The incident resulted in protests by medical workers and disrupting outpatient services across government healthcare facilities.
The incident took place at Shastrinagar Hospital in Dombivli after a dispute over the unavailability of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit beds.
As per statements from hospital officials, a woman admitted for childbirth underwent a caesarean section, after which doctors found that the newborn required specialised care as the umbilical cord had been wrapped twice around the baby's neck. Since the hospital's NICU was full, gynaecologists Dr Srushti Baviskar and Dr Vaibhav Salunkhe advised the family to shift the infant to another hospital.
The doctors alleged that the patient's relatives then contacted Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre. As the medical team was attending to other patients, they could not answer his calls. Mhatre later arrived at the hospital with a few men and allegedly assaulted the doctors.
CCTV footage from the hospital, which circulated on social media, purportedly showed Mhatre and his associates punching and slapping hospital staff inside a room. In the video, a woman doctor was seen trying to use her mobile phone before she was struck from behind, causing the phone to fall from her hand. Two nurses, Namita Ubale and Dravya Giri, were also allegedly pushed and manhandled while attempting to intervene.
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Medical professionals present at the scene stated that Mhatre verbally abused them and threatened staff while leaving the hospital. Dr Salunkhe reportedly sustained injuries in the assault.
Following the incident, hospital employees staged protests demanding action. OPD services at several government hospitals and health centres were suspended, although emergency services continued.
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