E-Paper
Three arrested for vandalising lab & attacking patients over business rivalry
The incident stems from an old rivalry between Poona Diagnostic Centre and Medico Lab over clients, services and particularly, market share in the local healthcare industry
The Pune city police have arrested three persons in connection with vandalising Poona Diagnostic Centre and attacking patients of the pathology facility. The incident stems from an old rivalry between Poona Diagnostic Centre and Medico Lab over clients, services and particularly, market share in the local healthcare industry. The tension simmering between the two facilities came to a head on October 23, putting a question mark on the safety of patients.
At around 9.40 pm on October 23, the three accused – Ashish Suresh Dudhanikar, 24; Dheeraj Lahu Dhele, 19; and Akshay Pratap Nikam, 24 (all residents of Gopal Nagar, Kondhwa) – barged into Poona Diagnostic Centre and vandalised the equipment and medical facilities there. They also attacked a patient, Suresh Motilala Saha, with sharp weapons, injuring him badly. The accused were arrested following a chilling altercation. The police said that they vandalised the window pane of the diagnostic centre processing unit, the partition glass of the X-ray room, and the glass on the main counter; and threatened the staff with dire consequences.
Vikas Babar, assistant police inspector, said, “The owner of Medico Lab blames Poona Diagnostic Centre for the failure of his lab business. Hence, he, along with his friends, decided to teach the management of Poona Diagnostic Centre a lesson and vandalised the lab.” Babar said that Suresh Shah, who had visited the lab for a blood test of his son, became a victim and was injured badly in the attack. The police rushed to the spot and arrested the three accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
As per the complaint filed by Maruti Chavan, who works as a lab technician at Poona Diagnostic Centre, a case has been registered at the Kondhwa police station under sections 326, 506, 427, and 34 of the IPC and further investigation is underway.
