THANE: Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad on Wednesday defended party corporator Ramesh Mhatre, saying that while assaulting a doctor is wrong, such incidents can occur in moments of anger. His remarks come amid outrage over allegations that Mhatre assaulted a woman doctor at a civic hospital in Dombivli, triggering protests by doctors and demands for his arrest.Speaking to the media, Sanjay Gaikwad said, “Anger arises when doctors have been negligent, haven’t provided treatment, when a patient is suffering in some way. In anger, some people raise their hands, some file complaints.”“What he did is wrong, but perhaps in anger it happened unintentionally. Maharashtra’s hospitals are in bad shape; the attitude toward patients is not right,” Gaikwad added further.Earlier in the day, Vishnu Nagar police arrested three people in connection with the alleged assault on doctors and hospital staff at Shastri Nagar Hospital. Mhatre, who has also been named in the FIR, has not yet been arrested.Police said the three arrested are supporters of Mhatre and are accused of attacking a doctor and nursing staff after a dispute over the treatment of a patient.Based on a complaint by doctor Vaibhav Salunkhe, police registered a case against four men, including Mhatre, and a woman under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2010.Mhatre has denied assaulting the woman doctor, saying he only tried to take away her mobile phone while she was speaking on it because he wanted an update on the patient’s condition.“The lady doctor is like my daughter. It is not part of Shiv Sena’s values to raise a hand against a woman,” he said.The incident has sparked protests by doctors across Kalyan-Dombivli. Following a call by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), routine outpatient and non-emergency services remained suspended at several civic and private hospitals, while emergency and critical care services continued.Doctors have demanded the immediate arrest of all those named in the FIR, including Mhatre, and stricter enforcement of the Maharashtra Medicare Act, saying repeated attacks on healthcare workers are endangering medical professionals.The issue also reached the Maharashtra Assembly, where Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray condemned the alleged assault and demanded that Mhatre be removed from his post.
