MUMBAI: Following the alleged assault on doctors, nurses and healthcare staff at Shastri Nagar Municipal Hospital in Dombivli by Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, the state unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a 24-hour strike of OPD services.The strike will begin at 6am on Monday and continue until 6am on Tuesday.The IMA said emergency services, intensive care units (ICUs), maternity services and life-saving treatments will remain unaffected. The association has demanded the prosecution of the accused “without any political interference or protection”.The association 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, to make offences under the law cognisable and non-bailable, ensure completion of investigations within 30 to 60 days, and establish fast-track courts for trial of such cases.On Tuesday, a Thane court granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting doctors, nurses and other staff members at a civic-run hospital in Dombivli earlier this month. Mhatre was remanded to judicial custody on Monday after the expiry of his police custody. Subsequently, his lawyer moved a bail plea before the court, which was allowed. Opposing the plea, police informed the court that several criminal cases had been registered against Mhatre in the past. Defence counsel A.Y. Patki argued that in most of those cases, Mhatre had either been acquitted or the proceedings had been quashed, and that only one case was currently pending against him. Sources said the 72-year-old corporator was admitted to Thane Civil Hospital after being sent to judicial custody due to health concerns. Suffering from kidney and prostate-related ailments, he was kept under medical supervision instead of being lodged in jail. Reacting to the development, Shiv Sena MP from Kalyan, Shrikant Shinde, 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 said. The alleged assault took place on July 6 at Shastri Nagar Municipal Hospital in Dombivli. According to police, Mhatre and his supporters attacked doctors and hospital staff over an alleged delay in the treatment of a pregnant woman. The incident sparked widespread outrage among the medical fraternity and led to a two-day suspension of routine outpatient department (OPD) services at civic-run hospitals across the Kalyan-Dombivli region.
