Thane, Jul 10 A court in Maharashtra's Thane district on Friday remanded Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and his three aides in police custody till July 13 following their arrest for allegedly assaulting two doctors and medical staff at a civic-run hospital.
Mhatre was arrested by the police on Wednesday, while three of his associates involved in the episode were held a day earlier.
A viral video showed Mhatre slapping and punching medical officer Dr Vaibhav Salunkhe and hitting resident medical officer Dr Srishti Baviskar on her hand at the Shastri Nagar Hospital run by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) on Monday evening, triggering massive outrage.
Following his arrest on Wednesday, Mhatre had complained of chest pain and was subsequently admitted to the Thane District Civil Hospital.
The police initially sought permission from the court to produce him via video conference. However, Judicial Magistrate First Class K S Katkade at Kalyan turned down the request and directed the police to present him in person.
Accordingly, Mhatre was taken to the court from the hospital post lunch amid tight security.
Police were deployed in large numbers on the court premises and the courtroom was packed to the gills.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court remanded all four accused in police custody till July 13.
The four accused, along with a woman supporter, have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(1) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 189(2) (unlawful assembly) and 191(2) (rioting).
In the wake of the incident, the two doctors Mhatre is accused of assaulting have tendered their resignations.
