Probe into Palghar assault on doctors an ‘eyewash’, HC says, as cops nab 2 accused Sena leaders

“It appears you (State) are just dodging our questions. Nothing is done. What is this investigation,” the division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata said

PALGHAR: The Palghar police on Friday apprehended Rohit Gavit, former Shiv Sena deputy taluka chief and son of MLA Rajendra Gavit, in connection with the assault on doctors and medical staff at a private hospital in Palghar on September 5.

Probe into Palghar assault on doctors an ‘eyewash’, HC says, as cops nab 2 accused Sena leaders

Gavit, who was suspended by the Shiv Sena following allegations of his involvement in the incident, was detained from Mira Road in the afternoon and taken to Boisar for questioning. Another accused Shiv Sena functionary, Sairaj Patil, was also detained from outside Palghar district in the late afternoon and brought to the district headquarters for questioning. The duo is likely to be placed under arrest on Saturday, once their interrogation and preliminary probe is completed, police officials familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.

Despite the arrests, the Bombay High Court on Friday severely reprimanded the Palghar police and called the investigation “most lackadaisical” and an “eyewash”.

“It appears you (State) are just dodging our questions. Nothing is done. What is this investigation,” the division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata said.

The court was hearing a suo motu regarding a similar assault on doctors at a civic hospital in Dombivli in July, in which Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre is an accused. On September 9, the court was informed about the September 5 incident at Relief Hospital in Palghar, when a group of Shiv Sena functionaries allegedly assaulted doctors and staff following a dispute over treatment and discharge of Govindas injured during Dahi Handi celebrations.

The Palghar police subsequently booked 17 people, including the Shiv Sena Palghar district chief Kundan Sankhe, city chief Rahul Gharat, and deputy taluka chief Rohit Gavit. While the Sena suspended the trio and four other accused functionaries, Gharat surrendered before the police on September 7. On Friday, MLA Rajendra Gavit claimed that his son too had surrendered before the police.

Appearing before the division bench, chief public prosecutor Shishir Hirey claimed that Rohit Gavit had been arrested and the prosecution’s major focus now was on arresting the main accused. He also informed the bench that anticipatory bail applications (ABA) filed by three absconding accused Sena functionaries had been rejected by the sessions court on Thursday.

The court however, questioned the Palghar police about why a vital piece of evidence – a bottle of saline allegedly removed from a patient – had not been seized and why the police had failed to trace even those accused who were local residents.

“They’re locals, right? They’re not from foreign countries that you can’t find them,” the court said. It emphasised that the police were “failing everyday, day in and day out”, and said lack of crucial evidence and other details in the panchnama reflected the poor quality of the probe.

“See this funny spot panchanama. How can you justify this? Investigation is also nil…The panchanama contains nothing except some statements and reflects the quality of investigation by the Palghar police,” the court said.

Senior counsel Ashok Mundargi, appointed amicus curiae in the matter, suggested that the court monitor the probe “or the investigation will never be completed”. He said that the investigation needed to be more focused – while the police had managed to identify unknown persons implicated in the FIR via CCTV footage, it had failed to trace known local accused.

The court pointed out that when doctors are assaulted for doing their jobs, it becomes a big issue. “Is this how you’re handling the situation? You don’t feel anything about it? This is an absolutely pathetic way of handling this. For you, it might be a small incident but for Indian Medical Association (IMA), it’s huge,” the court said.

After perusing the documents submitted by state authorities, the court said it was “flabbergasted” as the Palghar police was “oblivious of the procedure of law or are deliberately failing”.

The court directed the Special Inspector General, Konkan division, to review the investigation and submit a report by September 17, when the case will be heard again.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena functionaries Kundan Sankhe, Nilam Sankhe and Shubham Bandiwadekar approached the sessions court on Friday seeking anticipatory bail. Their pleas will be heard on September 15, along with the bail application filed by Patil.

Both Patil and Gavit are likely to be produced before a court on Saturday, police said.