Doctor assault row: Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Mhatre offers justification, not apology
CCTV shows Sena corporator allegedly assaulting a woman doctor. Refusing to apologise, he defends himself saying she "was not listening". Why his defence is drawing outrage
A CCTV video from a government hospital in Kalyan has triggered outrage across Maharashtra after Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) corporator Ramesh Mhatre was allegedly seen assaulting a woman doctor and other hospital staff.
While denying that he assaulted the doctor, Mhatre claimed he only struck her hand because she "was not listening" to his complaint. The incident has led to arrests, protests by doctors and sharp political reactions.
The incident took place at the KDMC-run Shastri Nagar Government Hospital in Kalyan. According to police, doctors Srishti Bawiskar and Vaibhav Salunkhe advised the family of a newborn to shift the baby to another hospital because there was no vacant NICU bed. The family allegedly objected and called corporator Ramesh Mhatre to the hospital.
Mhatre allegedly arrived with his associates, after which an altercation broke out inside the hospital. CCTV footage of the incident soon went viral on social media.
CCTV evidence
The footage showed Mhatre confronting the hospital staff, raising his hand and appearing to strike a woman doctor as she tries to explain the situation. Nurses and other hospital employees are seen attempting to intervene while the corporator and his associates continue shouting inside the hospital corridor.
Police have arrested Mhatre along with his associates Akshay Karande, Ramesh Pawar, and Shailesh Nikam. Shortly after his arrest, corporator Mhatre was transferred to Thane Civil Hospital after complaining of chest pain and high blood pressure while in police custody. T
They have been booked on charges including assault, criminal intimidation, rioting and under the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act.
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Doctors across the region launched protests demanding stronger protection for healthcare workers following the assault.
Mhatre defends himself
In an interview with NDTV, Mhatre refused to apologise for the incident. Instead, he denied assaulting the doctor despite the CCTV footage.
When questioned about the video, he claimed he had only hit the doctor's hand to stop her from using her phone because "she was not listening" to his complaint.
Experts slam attack
Meanwhile, policy expert Pushparaj Deshpande criticised the incident, arguing that infrastructure failures should not become an excuse for attacking healthcare workers.
"The lack of medical equipment and beds is a structural issue. Why are they hitting nurses and hospital staff?" he said.
He also questioned how leaders claiming to support women could justify the physical assault of a female doctor and nurses.
Earlier incident
The controversy has revived memories of another incident involving Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, who was caught on camera last year allegedly assaulting a staff member at the MLA hostel canteen in Mumbai over a food complaint.
Reacting to the latest controversy, Gaikwad said he had not seen any video showing Mhatre assaulting a woman doctor. "I have not seen any video showing Ramesh Mhatre assaulting a woman doctor. The footage I have seen shows a scuffle taking place," he said, while also criticising the functioning of government hospitals.
Policy expert Deshpande also said the incident reflected what critics describe as "Thokshahi"—the use of force instead of democratic conduct. "This 'Thokshahi' goes against the innate cultural and political ethos of Maharashtra. This is an aberration," he said.
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He added that Maharashtra's progressive legacy, shaped by leaders such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr BR Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule, Savitribai Phule, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, stood in contrast to such acts of violence.
Political reactions
Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde, himself a doctor and son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, condemned the assault on X.
Calling the incident "highly condemnable", he said patient care is "a service to humanity, not merely a job", and added that the party would not shield anyone involved and that disciplinary action would follow.
BJP MLA Pravin Darekar also criticised the incident, saying violence inside a hospital is unacceptable regardless of political affiliation and that grievances must be addressed through proper channels.
The Opposition reacted more sharply.
Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal described the incident as "thuggery" born of "the intoxication of power".
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut criticised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while MP Priyanka Chaturvedi demanded that Mhatre be suspended from the party and barred from contesting elections.
