MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Saturday cancelled the bail granted to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and his aides in connection with the alleged assault on doctors, nurses and hospital staff at Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli.The court directed Mhatre and the other accused to surrender before the authorities by 5 pm on Sunday. The matter was heard by the High Court in a suo motu cognisance case. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 22.The case pertains to an alleged attack on healthcare workers at the civic-run hospital on July 6. According to police, Mhatre and his supporters assaulted doctors, nurses and other staff members over an alleged delay in the treatment of a pregnant woman. The incident had triggered widespread condemnation from the medical fraternity and prompted demands for stronger legal protection for healthcare workers.The state unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a 24-hour statewide strike of OPD services in protest against the assault. The IMA has clarified that emergency services, intensive care units (ICUs), maternity services and life-saving treatments will continue without disruption. The association has demanded that the accused be prosecuted without any political interference or protection. The doctors’ body has also sought amendments to the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2010. Among its demands are making offences under the law cognisable and non-bailable, completing investigations within 30 to 60 days, and setting up fast-track courts for such cases. Earlier, a Thane court had granted bail to Mhatre after his police custody ended and he was remanded to judicial custody. During the hearing, police opposed the bail plea, citing several criminal cases registered against him in the past. Defence counsel A.Y. Patki argued that Mhatre had either been acquitted or the proceedings had been quashed in most of those cases, with only one case currently pending. Sources had said the 72-year-old corporator was admitted to Thane Civil Hospital due to health concerns after being sent to judicial custody. He is reportedly suffering from kidney and prostate-related ailments and was kept under medical supervision. Reacting to the controversy, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde had said the party had already served a show-cause notice on Mhatre. “Action has been taken against those responsible. No one has been shielded. The police have acted in accordance with the law,” he had said. The assault had earlier led to a two-day suspension of routine OPD services at civic-run hospitals across the Kalyan-Dombivli region as doctors staged protests against the attack.(With Agency Inputs)
