Two Thane doctors resign days after assault by Shiv Sena corporator at hospital

Thane,UPDATED: Jul 9, 2026 17:52 IST

Two doctors who were allegedly assaulted by a Shiv Sena corporator and his aides at a civic-run hospital in Thane district have resigned from service, an official said on Thursday. The assault, captured in a video that went viral on social media, triggered widespread outrage.

The two doctors, including a woman, were said to be under severe psychological trauma after the assault, according to their colleagues and family members. The corporator was arrested on Wednesday night, while his three aides had been held a day earlier.

The incident took place on Monday evening at Shastri Nagar Hospital, which is run by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation. The two doctors, medical officer Dr Vaibhav Salunkhe and resident medical officer Dr Srishti Baviskar, had advised the relatives of a newborn to shift the baby to another facility because there was no space in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

Angered by this, the relatives contacted local Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who arrived with his aides and allegedly assaulted the doctors. A video of the episode showed Mhatre slapping and punching a doctor and striking him on the head with a register. He was also seen hitting the female doctor on her hand.

Dr Salunkhe suffered injuries in the assault. KDMC Medical Health Officer Dr Deepa Shukla said Dr Salunkhe and Dr Baviskar, who had been working at the hospital through an outsourced agency, had submitted their resignations to the firm.

"Both doctors were appointed through an outsourcing agency. Even if they have tendered their resignations, they must have submitted them directly to their controlling agency. Their official paperwork has not reached our department yet," she said.

Efforts to contact the two doctors directly were unsuccessful. Their colleagues said both were deeply shaken by the incident.

One of them said, "Our parents spent their hard-earned money and efforts to educate us so that we could regularly serve ordinary and poor patients. It is shocking and completely unendurable for an outsider to barge into a hospital wing and physically assault us while we are treating patients."

Dr Baviskar's family members said they were worried about the safety of doctors at the hospital. The assault, the resignations and the arrests have kept the focus on the incident at the civic-run hospital in Thane district.

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