Sena leader ‘who thrashed doctors’ drops plea as Supreme Court talks tough

Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Sukrya Mhatre, facing prosecution for allegedly assaulting doctors and staff at the Shastri Nagar hospital in Kalyan, Thane, withdrew his Supreme Court appeal in the matter on Monday as the court made it clear that those involved in such incidents “do not deserve to roam on the streets even for a minute”.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Mhatre, said he had checked and found that it was not the same group of people. But the bench said the alleged attackers in both cases purportedly followed the same ideology. The bench also said it intended to hear the state’s plea to cancel the bail.

“A message needs to go…not only to these people but to everyone and as a deterrent…These people do not deserve to be out at all… Such people do not deserve to roam freely on the streets even for a minute,” the bench said.

The incident occurred at the Municipal Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli after doctors advised a pregnant woman’s family to shift her to another hospital because all Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds were occupied.

Her family allegedly contacted Mhatre, following which he and his associates allegedly assaulted three doctors at the hospital.