Shiv Sena corporator arrested after assault on doctors

A Shiv Sena corporator has been arrested in Maharashtra following an alleged assault on medical staff at a public hospital, an incident that has triggered widespread condemnation and protests from healthcare workers. Ramesh Sukrya Mhatre, a corporator from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, was taken into custody by Kalyan police on Wednesday, July 8, after days of mounting public and political pressure.

The incident occurred on the evening of Monday, July 6, at the Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli, which is operated by the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC). According to police, the altercation began after doctors advised the family of a newborn to transfer the infant to another medical facility because the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) had no available beds. The family, reportedly dissatisfied, contacted Mhatre for assistance.

Authorities allege that Mhatre arrived at the hospital with several associates and assaulted two doctors, Dr. Srishti Bawiskar and Dr. Vaibhav Salunkhe, and behaved aggressively toward nurses on duty. Dr. Salunkhe sustained injuries. A video of the confrontation, captured on hospital surveillance cameras, circulated...