Ramesh Mhatre denied attacking a woman doctor

Kalyan: Shiv Sena’s Kalyan-Dombivli corporator Ramesh Mhatre and three of his alleged associates were arrested on Wednesday for the attack on a hospital’s doctors and staffers over purported delay in a patient’s treatment two days prior, even as his party distanced itself from the assault.Within four hours of his arrest, though, Mhatre (72), who faces 12 other criminal cases, was admitted to Thane Civil Hospital after he complained of severe chest pain. Police said he has high blood pressure, prostate-related ailments and renal issues and that he was under treatment and observation at the hospital.The arrest, along with assurances from civic chief Abhinav Goel on adequate security measures at civic hospitals, prompted doctors and other healthcare workers in the twin cities to call off their strike. Routine outpatient and non-emergency services were halted on Tuesday in protest against the attack and private doctors had joined the stir in solidarity on Wednesday.Prior to his arrest from his residence in Kopar, Dombivli, Mhatre called a press conference to deny that he had hit a woman doctor. He blamed “the camera angle” and claimed he had merely tried to snatch her phone as she continued speaking on it while he was seeking information about the patient’s condition. “She is like my daughter. It is not part of Shiv Sena’s values to raise a hand against a woman,” he said.DCP (Kalyan zone) Atul Zende said his alleged associates—Akshay Karande, Ramesh Pawar and Pramod Nikam—were produced before a Kalyan court and remanded into two days of police custody. “Further investigation is underway,” he said.The medical fraternity’s two-day strike—private doctors joined on a call by Indian Medical Association (IMA)—affected hundreds of patients who visited hospitals for routine consultations and follow-up treatments. While many returned without receiving care, at several hospitals, doctors and staffers were seen guiding patients towards emergency departments.Central Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors said it will observe a token black ribbon protest on Thursday across all govt medical colleges and hospitals in Maharashtra. “The protest isn’t only against this incident but also against the increasing incidence of violence against healthcare workers across the state and to reiterate our demand for a safe working environment for all doctors and healthcare professionals,’’ it said in a release.Earlier in the day, an IMA delegation met DGP Sadanand Date over the attack. “He assured us that instructions will be issued to all police stations across Maharashtra to implement Maharashtra Medical Act whenever there is violence against a healthcare establishment,’’ said Dr Santosh Kadam of IMA.The attack drew strong condemnation not just from opposition parties but also the Sena brass. Shrikant Shinde, the party’s Kalyan MP and deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s son, asserted that no one who takes the law into their own hands would be spared. Calling the attack “highly condemnable”, Shinde, who too is a doctor, said treating patients was a service to humanity and healthcare workers deserved protection and respect. He made it clear that Shiv Sena would not shield anyone involved in the attack. “The party’s position is clear. Strict legal action will be taken, and the party will not support any individual found guilty.”NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray visited the civic-run Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli, whose staffers were attacked, offered their support and demanded Mhatre’s resignation. “…since no beds were available, the doctors gave an honest suggestion to immediately transfer the woman to another well-equipped hospital for the safety of the baby—is this the doctor’s fault? The relatives of the patient may get angry, but it is absolutely not right to assault the doctor who gave an honest suggestion,” Pawar said in a post on X.State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said Mhatre was drunk on power. “Forget ministers or MLAs… now even municipal corporators have no fear of the law left. Once they get the patronage of power, the law goes in their pocket and thuggery takes to the streets,” he posted on X.(With inputs from Chaitanya Marpakwar)

DCM Eknath Shinde greets Sharad Pawar at his office

Mumbai: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar visited deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s office in Vidhan Bhavan on Wednesday, creating a stir in Mumbai’s political circles.Shinde was said to have left the state cabinet meeting early to meet Pawar. He greeted Pawar in his office, and the two were said to have had a conversation.Separately, Congress Working Committee member (special invitee) Arif Naseem Khan had a 45-minute closed-door meeting with Pawar, probably, to gauge the veteran neta’s political mood, Congress insiders said.Pawar was in the state legislature to attend a meeting of the high-powered committee on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Pawar also chaired a meeting of NCP (SP) legislators and met Shiv Sena Legislative Council deputy chairperson Sachin Ahir, who recently switched over from the Sena (UBT) to Shinde’s Sena.“I met Sharad Pawar after receiving a phone call from him. I told him that I would visit him. Leaders of his stature, who have contributed to both the state and the country, deserve our respect, and it is important to seek their blessings. That is why I visited him after his call,” Ahir said.Meanwhile, Congress insiders believe that the rumours of the NCP (SP) joining hands with the Mahayuti may be closer to reality than they appeared, and said the Congress was making every effort to position itself to reclaim the political space currently occupied by Pawar’s party in such a scenario.While Khan declined to comment on the discussions during the meeting, he said the MVA’s plans to launch statewide agitations over the govt’s alleged failure to fulfil promises made to farmers and the deteriorating law-and-order situation were among the topics discussed in the meeting.Commenting on speculation surrounding a possible merger of Sharad Pawar’s party, Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal said discussions and rumours were circulating, but he had no information on the matter. He added that Pawar’s party remained a constituent of the INDIA alliance and reiterated the Congress’s position that all forces fighting against the BJP should remain together.Recently, NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil met with BJP’s Vinod Tawde, which led to rumours that Sharad Pawar’s party was exploring the possibility of joining the BJP-led NDA.Congress sources stated that the party’s state leadership strongly opposed NCP (SP)’s merger with the Congress, and instead floated the idea o fwelcoming their party functionaries if they wanted to join the Congress at the group or individual levels.Deputy CMs Shinde and Sunetra Ajit Pawar, ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai, Pawar, MP Narayan Rane and other MLAs and MLCs were present for the Maharashtra-Karnataka border committee’s meeting.

The mangled SUV. A case has been filed against its driver

Navi Mumbai: Two men were killed and five others, including a woman, were injured after an SUV in which they were travelling along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway crashed into a breakdown truck parked on the service road at the 25km-mark after crossing Madap tunnel near Khalapur on Wednesday morning.Khalapur police inspector Sachin Pawar said the T-permit SUV driver, Ghansoli resident Savanna Anadan (52), had picked up six masons, including a contractor, from Dadar and was to drop them at a construction site in Pune for which he charged a total Rs 3,000. Police suspect that due to low visibility amid heavy rain, he did not notice the parked truck and crashed into it.Acting on a complaint by the container truck driver Mahendra Kumar Jaiswar (42), Khalapur police have registered an FIR against the Anadan, who was booked for rash and negligent driving causing death among other offences under the BNS and the Motor Vehicles Act.The deceased passengers were identified as Mohammad Rehman Mohammed Mustaq Shaikh (33) and the labour contractor Gulam Mustafa Kasimuddin Shaikh (31), both residents of Kurla who hailed from Kolkata.The injured masons — Rahim Shaikh (26), Ajmal Kitbule (26), Alik Shaikh (26) and Asma Alaq Temudin (32) — have been admitted at MGM hospital Kamothe. Anadan sustained minor bruises in the mishap and has not been hospitalised, said police.Pawar said, “As per complainant Jaiswar, around 2am, his vehicle loaded with 31kg salt consignment to be delivered in Wakdi, Pune, broke down after crossing Madap tunnel as the axle got dismantled and two rear tyres came off. He pulled off the truck to the shoulder service lane and safely parked it and informed the truck owner, Vijaykumar Kharje, over mobile. Kharje told him he would send a mechanic in the morning. To prevent a mishap, Jaiswar kept a road reflector behind the truck. He dialled the emergency number of the expressway control room, but could not connect due to mobile network issues. After a while, a highway patrol van came and kept side barricades behind the truck for alerting oncoming vehicles. Jaiswar stood behind his vehicle the whole night and using his mobile torch signalled at the motorists to divert. But around 11 am, a SUV came at high speed and crashed into the road reflector and barricades rammed into the truck’s rear.”Khalapur police, ambulance, highway patrol van arrived within a short time and the severely injured two passengers in the SUV were rushed to Khalapur civic hospital, where they were declared brought dead. The other four injured persons, including the driver, were admitted at MGM Hospital.

The cost must be paid in 2 weeks to the Mumbai University and its Examination Board, said the HC

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on a college for belatedly informing a student last February of his ineligibility to a BMS course he was admitted to in 2022, and denying him permission for final semester examination. The college said he was ineligible as he hadn’t cleared the HSC exam in the first attempt, as required.The cost must be paid in two weeks to the Mumbai University and its Examination Board, Justices R I Chagla and Farhan Dubash held in their July 1 order available on July 10.The student, Mehul Ghavari, had last year petitioned the HC to challenge the denial of permission by the college to appear for the sixth semester. The HC said that the college, Seth Hirachand Mutha College in Kalyan, is “entirely to blame” and “student should not be made to suffer,’’ since the college was aware of his ineligibility in December 2022, and yet allowed him to continue.Mumbai University’s counsel Rui Rodrigues informed the HC that in December 2022 itself, following scrutiny, the college was informed of the student’s ineligibility.In March, the HC had directed the college to comply with its December 2025 order permitting the student, represented by advocate Atharva Dandekar, to fill the exam form and now the student wanted his results.Advocate Sumit Kothari for the college submitted its affidavit, dated June 29, which said the Covid-19 pandemic led to remote working, communication challenges, staff shortage, and the unprecedent circumstances led to the “oversight in admission’’ to the Bachelor of Management Studies. It was “a human error’’, sans malafides, he added.Rodrigues cited last year’s HC order of Rs 50,000 costs imposed on the college for a similar flawed admission of another student and sought an enhanced cost now, which the HC agreed.“The petitioner should not be made to suffer at the hands of the college,’’ the HC said, and sought an undertaking from the college to not commit such lapses in the future, directing the results be given to the petitioner in a week.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra govt’s decision to make a domicile certificate and knowledge of Marathi mandatory for obtaining badges for aggregator cab and bike-taxi drivers from Aug has sparked concern among a section of drivers, especially migrants who form a significant part of the app-based taxi workforce in Mumbai and other cities.Drivers say they fear the new norm may have unintended consequences. A large number of app-based cab drivers in Maharashtra are migrants from states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Aggregator companies rely heavily on this workforce to meet the demand in metropolitan regions. Drivers argue it is difficult to attract enough local residents to drive long hours in the sector, making migrant workers indispensable to maintaining fleet strength.“Who will benefit from this?” asked Ola driver Akhilesh Mishra, adding he believes the market could shrink if many drivers fail to obtain the required documents. A reduction in the number of drivers, he said, would lead to longer waiting times for passengers and higher fares due to supply crunch.The govt’s stated objective is regulatory uniformity. Transport department officials said drivers of kaali-peeli taxis and autorickshaws have long been required to possess a public service vehicle authorisation (PVSA) badge, which involves domicile verification, police checks and basic knowledge of Marathi. By bringing aggregator cab and bike-taxi drivers under the same framework, the state aims to create a common set of rules for all passenger transport operators.Former aggregator cab driver Shahnawaz Hussain questioned the rationale behind linking domicile to professional eligibility. “If the govt introduces a policy, there should be a genuine reason and some benefit attached to it,” he said. He warned that thousands of drivers who already provide reliable service and maintain strong customer ratings may be forced out of the system despite years of experience.Drivers also point to practical difficulties in obtaining domicile certificates, describing it as a time-consuming process that often involves significant costs. While the govt sees the rule as a tool for regulation and verification, many in the industry fear it could disrupt livelihoods and reduce transport options for commuters. Ultimately, the success of the policy will depend on whether it balances regulatory oversight with the realities of Mumbai’s migrant-driven transport economy, said a transport analyst.Keshav Kshirsagar, Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha, a union of aggregator cab drivers, said: “Making domicile certificates mandatory for drivers may appear to favour locals, but in practice it is unlikely to achieve its objective. The reality is that obtaining a domicile certificate is often easy, with unscrupulous agents helping applicants secure documents through fake rent agreements and other forged records, sometimes charging hefty amounts. We have already seen this happen in the autorickshaw and kaali-peeli taxi sectors. As a result, no driver is likely to be pushed out of the system.”The move also comes amid the rapid growth of unauthorised bike-taxi services. The govt believes a badge system will help identify drivers, improve accountability and ensure that only verified individuals are engaged in public transport services. Officials argue that the domicile requirement is not a new policy but an extension of an existing rule applicable to other categories of commercial passenger vehicles.