Unhappy with kin’s treatment, trio barges into ICU, slaps on-duty doctor

The accused – identified as Shaheem Ghani Ahmed, Afzal Ghani Ahmed and Gousiya Khan – not only threatened to harm the hospital staff but also the other patients who were undergoing treatment, police officials said

Mumbai: Three persons were booked for allegedly barging into one of the ICUs of the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri as they were not satisfied with the treatment that their relative had received in the hospital. One of the accused allegedly slapped a doctor who was on duty.

HT Image

The accused – identified as Shaheem Ghani Ahmed, Afzal Ghani Ahmed and Gousiya Khan – not only threatened to harm the hospital staff but also the other patients who were undergoing treatment, police officials said.

According to the police, the incident occurred on Saturday around 10.30am when the trio entered the ICU on the tenth floor of the hospital without permission. “Their 70-year-old mother has been undergoing treatment for some infection at the hospital since June 23. The relatives had been fighting the hospital staff regarding the bill amount and refused to pay up. The hospital had earlier made a police complaint in that matter as well,” said an officer from Versova police station.

“They started screaming at the staff about not paying attention to their kin and stopping her medication. When the ICU in charge tried to diffuse the situation, Shaheem slapped the doctor and the other two pushed him around,” added the officer.

The security personnel and other doctors intervened and prevented the main accused from being more aggressive. “We immediately took all three accused into custody. Shaheem was produced in court on Monday morning and was sent to judicial custody. The other two accused were let off after giving them notice,” said the officer.

Shaheem was also granted conditional bail on Monday, asking him to not enter the hospital premises.

The trio have been booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code as well as under relevant sections of the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2010.

When HT reached out to Dr Santosh Shetty, CEO and executive director of Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, he confirmed the incident. “The family has been exhibiting aggressive behaviour towards the staff since the last few months prompting us to inform the authorities earlier,” he said. “Following the assault on Saturday, we immediately registered an FIR. While providing quality healthcare to patients remains undeterred at Kokilaben Hospital, our commitment to fostering a safe and secure environment for all our staff is paramount.”