Shiv Sena has suspended seven Palghar office-bearers after alleged violence and intimidation at a private hospital during treatment of injured Govindas, following a dispute over medical examination and treatment charges. The action was taken on the recommendation of the party’s disciplinary committee and on the instructions of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, according to a party statement reported by Loksatta.
The incident occurred at Relief Hospital in Palghar city during the early hours of September 6, after Govindas injured during a Dahi Handi festival organised on September 5 were brought there for treatment. According to the report, a group of local Shiv Sena functionaries arrived at the hospital after a dispute over treatment-related charges. They allegedly abused doctors, questioned hospital staff in offensive language and threatened to damage the facility.
The report further alleged that one hospital employee was assaulted and that patients were forced to leave the intensive care unit. The incident at the hospital’s reception area was captured on closed-circuit television cameras, according to the report. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Palghar police registered a case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as well as the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2010. The police action followed the appearance of suspected accused persons at the police station. Shiv Sena city chief Rahul Ghart was arrested in connection with the case, the report said.
The suspended office-bearers include Palghar district chief Kundan Balkrishna Sankhe, city chief Rahul Ramdas Ghart, deputy taluka chief Manish alias Vicky Sankhe, Yuva Sena district chief Sairaj Patil, Yuva Sena deputy taluka chief Rohit Gavit, deputy taluka chief Rahul Sankhe and Yuva Sena assembly constituency chief Rishabh Ware. Rohit Gavit is identified in the report as the son of MLA Rajendra Gavit.
Shinde had earlier described the incident as unfortunate and said doctors and other hospital employees should not be assaulted. Speaking to journalists after a meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Goa, he said that any grievance regarding a patient or treatment should be taken through a legal complaint rather than through violence or intimidation. He also said the party would not support such conduct and warned party workers that assaults on doctors would not be tolerated.
According to the report, local senior party leaders contacted doctors at the hospital after the incident. The doctors allegedly stated that some party office-bearers and public representatives had previously behaved in a disrespectful and intimidating manner, though those claims were presented as part of the party’s internal account and were not independently established in the report.
The suspension was announced in a letter issued by Shiv Sena secretary Sanjay Bhaurao More after the disciplinary committee submitted its report. The criminal investigation and any further legal proceedings will determine responsibility for the alleged offences.
