Palghar Hospital Staff Assaulted, ICU Patient Taken Away After Dahi Handi Bill Row
Shiv Sena workers allegedly stormed a Palghar hospital ICU, assaulted staff, and forcibly removed a patient after a billing dispute over Dahi Handi injuries.
A violent confrontation erupted at Relief Hospital in Palghar in the early hours of Saturday, when a group of alleged Shiv Sena workers stormed the intensive care unit (ICU) and assaulted staff over a medical bill dispute. The incident occurred after five 'govindas' — participants in Dahi Handi celebrations — were brought in with injuries sustained at an event near the party's local office.
According to Vivek Babulinga, the hospital's billing assistant who was slapped during the altercation, the five patients had injuries ranging from chest and spinal trauma to head and shoulder wounds. One patient, who had lost consciousness, was admitted to the ICU and a CT scan was recommended.
Babulinga said that around 25-30 workers, including the party's Palghar district and city unit chiefs, arrived demanding the immediate discharge of the patients. The total bill for the five patients had reached Rs 19,866 by midnight. The group paid only Rs 10,000 in cash and insisted it cover all expenses.
When staff asked for time to process discharge summaries, the situation escalated. Babulinga alleged the workers abused a female doctor, with one remark suggesting she was spared only because of her gender. He said he intervened to protect the doctor and was then slapped. The mob then barged into the ICU, threatened nursing staff, and forcibly took the unconscious patient out of the hospital.
A complaint was filed at a police station at around 3 am. On Sunday morning, a case was registered against several named individuals, including the district and city unit chiefs, the son of a local MLA, and 7-8 unidentified persons. Charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act include assault, criminal intimidation, trespass, and unlawful assembly.
No arrests have been made so far, and an investigation is underway. The incident has drawn political condemnation, with the NCP (SP) calling it "organised hooliganism" and pointing to a similar alleged attack on medical staff in Dombivli as part of a concerning pattern.