Rohit Gavit, the son of MLA Rajendra Gavit, has been arrested in connection with the alleged assault at a hospital in Palghar and remanded in police custody for four days, taking the total number of accused in the case to 22.
Gavit was produced before the Palghar sessions court after police took him into custody from Mira Road on Friday afternoon. He was arrested on Saturday and sent to police custody until September 16 by in-charge first class judicial magistrate P C Salkar. Arguments before the court continued for nearly an hour.
Gavit’s lawyer told the court that although he was present at the location, he had no role in the assault, according to the report. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court ordered his police custody. The police have so far arrested 14 people in connection with the incident.
The case relates to an incident at Relief Hospital in Palghar in the early hours of September 5, when injured Govindas were taken there for treatment. A dispute allegedly broke out over the cost of treatment, following which local Shiv Sena office-bearers allegedly went to the hospital, created a disturbance and assaulted a hospital employee.
The Bombay High Court had expressed strong displeasure over the manner in which Palghar police handled the investigation and questioned the delay in arresting the accused. Following the court’s observations, police formed several teams to trace and arrest people named in the case.
The first information report named 17 accused, including seven identified people and 10 unidentified individuals. The number later rose to 22 as additional arrests and accused were recorded in the investigation. Rahul Gharat, identified in the report as the Palghar Shiv Sena city chief and the main accused, had been arrested earlier. His police custody has been extended until September 13.
Police also arrested 12 Govindas on Saturday in connection with the case. They were remanded in police custody until September 15. The development has widened the investigation beyond the initial allegations involving local political office-bearers and the hospital employee.
The court has also rejected anticipatory bail applications filed by suspended office-bearers Sairaj Patil, Rahul Sankhe and Manish alias Vicky Sankhe. Applications filed by Kundan Sankhe, Shubham Bandivdekar and corporator Neelam Sankhe are scheduled to be heard on September 15. The next court hearings will determine the immediate custody and bail status of the accused named in the case.
