The Bombay High Court has directed the Palghar Superintendent of Police to appear in person on Wednesday following allegations that law enforcement authorities failed to act effectively after political workers assaulted medical personnel and ransacked a private healthcare facility.
A division bench comprising Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata issued the summons during a hearing on Tuesday. The judges acted after legal representatives for the medical fraternity pointed out that investigators had made little headway in probing the violent disruption at Relief Hospital in Palghar district, where political activists allegedly forced their way inside and removed critically injured patients against clinical guidance.
Vandalism And Attack At Relief Hospital
The Palghar incident unfolded following Dahi Handi festivities on September 5, when five injured participants were brought to Relief Hospital for emergency treatment. Medical staff placed three of the injured individuals into the intensive care unit and advised that they undergo diagnostic CT scans.
Shortly afterward, a group of Shiv Sena workers entered the premises without authorization, damaged hospital property, threatened attending physicians, and assaulted staff members before absconding with the patients. Rahul Gharat, the party’s city unit chief, allegedly struck an employee, while district unit head Kundan Sankhe and other associates intimidated the doctors on duty.
Political Figures Booked And Initial Arrest
The police subsequently lodged a first information report naming 17 people in connection with the incident. Among those charged are Sankhe, Gharat, and Rohit Gavit, who serves as deputy taluka chief and is the son of Member of the Legislative Assembly Rajendra Gavit.
Investigators took Gharat into custody on Monday. Following an appearance in a local court, he was remanded to police custody for one day.
Allegations Of Police Inaction And External Pressure
The matter came before the High Court while the bench was reviewing a suo motu petition concerning a separate July assault at a municipal hospital in Thane involving party corporator Ramesh Mhatre. Senior advocate Ashok Mundargi brought the Palghar confrontation to the bench’s notice, stating that local police were facing external pressure to file counter-charges against the medical practitioners under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Senior advocate S U Kamdar, representing the Indian Medical Association, told the court that despite the registration of an initial case, authorities had taken no substantive steps to advance the investigation. When the bench pressed the state for a progress update, Additional Public Prosecutor Shreekant Gavand stated that he had not received instructions from the investigating officers and requested an adjournment.
The court scheduled the next hearing for Wednesday, instructing the district police chief to appear before the judges alongside the complete case records.
