Case against Shiv Sena corporator, 5 others for assaulting doctors in Thane hospital

Mumbai,UPDATED: Jul 8, 2026 15:00 IST

A ruling Shiv Sena corporator and his associates assaulted two doctors and other hospital staff at a civic hospital in Maharashtra's Thane district after the family of a newborn was advised to shift the baby to another facility, police said on Wednesday.

The attack, which took place on Monday evening, was captured on video and later went viral on social media.

A case was registered against corporator Ramesh Sukrya Mhatre and five others on Tuesday night after public outrage and pressure from the Indian Medical Association, which had threatened to shut clinics and hospitals in the area if immediate action was not taken.

The incident also triggered a political row, with Shiv Sena (UBT) attacking the government, while ruling Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde condemned the assault and said strict action would be taken against those found guilty.

According to police, the incident took place at the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation-run Shastri Nagar Hospital in Kalyan. Doctors Srishti Bawiskar and Vaibhav Salunkhe had advised the relatives of a newborn to shift the baby to another facility because there was no space in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Angered by this, the relatives contacted the corporator, who went to the hospital and abused and hit the doctors. Dr Salunkhe was injured in the assault.

KDMC Medical Health Officer Dr Deepa Shukla and the medical staff approached the police late on Monday night, but a case was not registered then.

After the assault video went viral on Tuesday afternoon, the public and medical bodies criticised the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP in the state Mahayuti government, for allegedly shielding the corporator.

Hospital workers staged a work-stop protest on Tuesday, while a delegation of the IMA's Kalyan and Dombivli units and leaders of the civic workers' union met KDMC Commissioner Abhinav Goyal.

The IMA also demanded the immediate arrest of Mhatre and his supporters and warned that all private clinics and hospitals in the region would shut on Wednesday if an FIR was not lodged.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, in a post on X, asked if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would tolerate this ally's "goondagiri".

He said, "Will he arrest the goon of mindhe gang and dismiss him from his seat of Corporator? Or does he send out a signal to not just doctors and nurses but to everyone that Maharashtra sees such lawlessness and is ok with it."

Shrikant Shinde, the Kalyan MP and a doctor, said the assault on doctors and medical staff was highly condemnable.

"As a doctor myself, I know that patient service is not merely a job but a service to humanity. In extremely adverse and stressful conditions, doctors, nurses, and other health workers labour day and night for the public's service," he said.

He added, "No one who takes the law into their own hands will be spared, and strict action will be taken against the guilty as per the law."

He also said the party would not support anyone involved in the attack and would take strict disciplinary action against those found guilty, adding that he stood firmly with all doctors, nurses and medical staff at KDMC Hospital.

Police said the case was registered against the corporator, his four male supporters and a woman under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections related to assault on a public servant from doing duty, causing hurt, criminal intimidation, intentional insult, unlawful assembly and rioting.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Suhas Nemade said an investigation was under way and no arrests had been made so far.

The case has now moved from outrage over the assault and a delayed police response to a formal investigation, with political reactions and medical protests continuing over the attack on hospital staff.

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