New Delhi:
One of the doctors assaulted by Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) leader Ramesh Mhatre at a hospital in Maharashtra’s Thane has resigned due to fear, he told NDTV.
According to the doctor, he has left the city and will “never go back”.
“I have resigned because there is a lot of fear. Goons are watching us, and I have already left the city. They are very dangerous people. The other doctors may continue working there, but I cannot. I will not go back there again,” the doctor said.
The incident took place on July 6 at the Shastri Nagar Hospital, run by the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Dombivli. According to hospital officials, it began when two doctors – one man and one woman – advised relatives of a newborn to shift the baby to another facility as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital was full. The doctors had cited the need for appropriate care for the newborn.
The relatives then contacted Mhatre, who arrived at the hospital with his associates.
A video showed the Sena corporator and his supporters initially arguing with the doctors and the staff. He then approached a woman doctor from behind as she held a mobile phone, and struck her with force – causing the phone to fall. He then turned to the other doctor and staff members and assaulted them.
One of the doctors sustained injuries.
Mhatre, however, showed no remorse over the incident.
Speaking to NDTV, he denied assaulting the doctors and said he would not apologise. “I did not attack the woman doctor at the hospital. I slapped her phone as she was not listening to us. I only tried to get her off the phone. Our action saved the life of a woman and her child. We don’t care about anything else,” he said.
According to Mhatre, he would express regret if the doctors apologised for their behaviour, adding that Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray taught them to fight injustice.
A case was registered against Mhatre and his five associates.
The police arrested Mhatre last evening in connection with the offence. A while later, he was admitted to the Thane Civil Hospital after his health allegedly deteriorated.
