As the controversy surrounding the alleged assault at a KDMC hospital doctor continues, the family of the pregnant patient involved has backed Shiv Sena Corporator Mahesh Mhatre. The patient's mother on Wednesday claimed doctors refused to treat her daughter despite repeated pleas and insisted that the case registered against the corporator was "completely false".
"My elder daughter was pregnant, and we took her to a hospital after sonography and all other checkups. We told them it was an emergency case, but they said they could not treat her and asked us to take her to Sion Hospital," she told news agency ANI.
Karande said the family repeatedly urged the medical staff to reconsider because heavy flooding had made travel difficult and they feared for the patient's condition.
"We requested the doctors, explaining that the roads were flooded and it would take hours to reach another hospital. We told them my daughter's life was at risk and requested that her delivery be carried out there. We appealed repeatedly to the doctors and staff, but they refused and insisted that we take her to another hospital. My daughter was in a critical condition,' she said.
Family says they sought Mhatre's help
Karande said that after repeated requests for treatment failed, the family decided to contact Mahesh Mhatre for assistance.
{{/usCountry}}Karande said that after repeated requests for treatment failed, the family decided to contact Mahesh Mhatre for assistance.
{{/usCountry}}According to her, the corporator questioned the hospital staff over their refusal to treat the patient despite her condition. She also rejected the allegations made against him.
"We didn't know what to do, so we called Dada. We asked him how we could move her in such circumstances. He questioned why the hospital was refusing treatment despite her condition. The doctors were not even taking our calls, so Dada came to the hospital to help. The case filed against Dada is completely false. He has always stood by us. That is why I reached out to him," she said.
Mhatre expresses regret, denies assault allegation
Earlier, addressing a press conference, Mhatre expressed regret over the incident but denied assaulting a female doctor.
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He claimed the visuals from the CCTV footage could appear misleading because of the camera angle and said he had only tapped the doctor on the hand while trying to draw her attention, alleging that she was speaking on the phone instead of listening to the family's grievance.
"I express regret over the incident of assault that took place. I state with full confidence that I did not raise my hand against the female doctor. What appears in the CCTV footage might look that way due to the camera angle. I address her informally (using "tu") because she is like a daughter to me. I am not even aware of whether she is married or not. While we were conversing, she kept talking on the phone and was not listening to our grievance; that is why I tapped her on the hand. We have been guided by Balasaheb's teachings. We have never raised a hand against women, nor will we ever do so in the future.," Mhatre said.
He further said that the incident occurred due to systemic shortcomings within the hospital. "We will strive to address those deficiencies. The individuals who prompted my visit there will provide further details regarding the entire incident. The people who had called me did not answer my calls. I arrived at the scene considering the gravity of the situation. They are the ones who will provide the full details," he added.
(With inputs from ANI)