- A woman doctor assaulted by Shiv Sena corporator Rakesh Mhatre has resigned citing fear
- Her resignation comes after a male colleague quit and left the city after being slapped
- A KDMC official said the doctors have not formally resigned and are absent without notice
A woman doctor assaulted by Shiv Sena corporator Rakesh Mhatre has quit. Srushti Baviskar's resignation comes a day after her colleague Vaibhav Salunkhe, who was slapped by the corporator, quit his job and left the city.
"I have resigned because there is a lot of fear. Goons are watching us, and I have already left the city. They are very dangerous people. The other doctors may continue working there, but I cannot. I will not go back there again," Salunkhe had said.
KDMC (Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deepa Shukla, however, said doctors Vaibhav Salunkhe and Srushti Baviskar have not submitted their resignations.
Both doctors were appointed at the hospital through a third-party hiring agency. They have not submitted their resignations to this parent agency either. "They are absent from their duties without notice," she added.
Mhatre had carried out the assault on a group of medical staff at Dombivli's Shastri Nagar Hospital, run by the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation.
The row had started after two doctors - a man and a woman - advised the relatives to shift a newborn to another facility as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital was full. The relatives then approached Mhatre, who arrived at the hospital with his associates and the matter escalated from there.
A video showed the Sena corporator hitting a woman doctor from behind. He then turned to the other doctor and staff members and assaulted them.
Following public outrage after the video of the attack was widely circulated, Mhatre was arrested on Wednesday. But he was admitted to the Thane Civil Hospital soon after on health grounds, sparking allegations of preferential treatment.
