Thane Hospital Assault Case: Shiv Sena Corporator Ramesh Mhatre Gets Bail

A Kalyan court has granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, the prime accused in the assault on doctors and nurses at Dombivli's Shastri Nagar Hospital, directing him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000.

The order brings relief to the corporator, who had been in custody since his arrest over the July 6 incident that drew sharp condemnation from the medical fraternity and set off a political slugfest in Maharashtra, with the Opposition targeting the Shiv Sena and the Mahayuti alliance over the episode.

Mhatre's counsel, Advocate MK Qazi, said the defence filed the bail application, after which the Investigating Officer and the Assistant Public Prosecutor placed their responses before the court. "We had filed a bail application for Ramesh Mhatre. Following the filing, the Investigating Officer and the Assistant Public Prosecutor submitted their responses today. We then presented detailed arguments," Qazi told, adding that the prosecution and the police had flagged several objections during the hearing. "During the proceedings, the APP and the IO raised numerous objections regarding various points that emerged; we addressed all those objections in our arguments. After hearing the arguments, the Honourable Court granted bail to Ramesh Mhatre."

According to the case details, the court took into account Mhatre's medical condition while passing the order, noting that he had been hospitalised following his arrest. The corporator had earlier sought permission to appear before the court through video conferencing citing his health, but the court had declined that request and insisted on his physical production.

Police had booked Mhatre under Sections 132 and 121(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (corresponding to Sections 353 and 333 of IPC) in a case registered at the Vishnunagar police station in Dombivli. Investigators said four persons, including Mhatre, have been arrested so far in connection with the assault. He was earlier remanded to police custody till July 13, before being moved to judicial custody and, subsequently, granted bail on the personal bond.

The case relates to an incident on July 6, when Mhatre was accused of assaulting doctors and nursing staff at the civic-run Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli. The alleged attack, parts of which were captured on the hospital's CCTV cameras, triggered outrage among healthcare workers across the state, with several medical bodies demanding strict action against the corporator and better security cover for doctors on duty at government facilities.

Mhatre, for his part, has denied assaulting any member of the hospital staff during his visit. Responding to the footage that surfaced from the hospital, he maintained that the visuals "may look that way" only because of the camera angle, and insisted that he did not raise a hand against any doctor or nurse present at the facility that day.

With bail now granted on a Rs 50,000 personal bond, Mhatre walks out of custody, though the underlying criminal proceedings against him and his co-accused are expected to continue. The order does not touch upon the merits of the allegations, and the trial court will examine the evidence, including the CCTV footage cited by both sides, as the case proceeds.

The other accused arrested with Mhatre remain part of the same case, and their bail pleas, if filed, would be examined separately. Doctors' associations have continued to press for stronger security at government-run hospitals across Maharashtra since the incident.

Inputs from ANI