Palghar Hospital Violence: Bombay HC summons Superintendent of Police over alleged inaction
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Palghar Superintendent of Police (SP) to appear before it over allegations of inaction in a case involving Shiv Sena workers accused of assaulting doctors and medical staff at a private hospital in the district.
A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata issued the summons after being informed that local police had taken “no serious steps” in probing the vandalism and assault at Palghar Hospital, where Sena workers allegedly barged in and forcibly took away injured ‘Govindas’ who had participated in the Dahi Handi celebration on September 5, according to a PTI report.
The bench was hearing a suo motu plea concerning the assault that occurred at a civic hospital in Thane in July, in which a Shiv Sena corporator is an accused, when senior counsel Ashok Mundargi informed it about a similar incident at the hospital in Palghar.
The police have registered a first information report against 17 people in connection with the Palghar incident. The accused include the Shiv Sena district chief, city chief, the son of an MLA and a deputy taluka chief.
In Palghar, five injured ‘Govindas’ were admitted for treatment at Relief Hospital and three of them were kept in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The doctors there advised a CT scan for the ICU patients, but several Shiv Sena activists barged into the hospital, vandalised the premises, threatened the doctors, assaulted some staff members and forcibly took the patients away, Mundargi told the court.
He claimed there was pressure on the police to register an FIR against the doctors under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Senior counsel S U Kamdar, appearing for the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said that although a case was registered, the police had taken “no serious steps” in the probe, reports PTI.
The court then questioned the prosecution about the steps taken by the police in the case.
Additional public prosecutor Shreekant Gavand said he did not have instructions from the police on the case and sought time.
The bench then posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday and directed the Palghar district Superintendent of Police to appear before it along with the case papers.
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