Mumbai: Angry relatives of a 19-year-old patient allegedly assaulted a nurse and three security guards at the civic-run KEM Hospital in Parel early Tuesday, just hours after the teenager was declared dead.
Incident Details
The victim, Ganesh Kolekar from Sangli, had been admitted to Ward 41 at KEM Hospital for nearly a month due to liver failure and was awaiting a donor liver. Doctors had informed the family on Monday evening that his condition was critical. A senior doctor stated, 'We had informed the family right at admission that a liver could be tough to come by.'
After Ganesh died on Monday night, hospital authorities completed the required medical formalities and shifted the body to the mortuary. Around 5:30 am on Tuesday, nearly 15 relatives allegedly arrived at the hospital and turned violent.
Attack on Staff
The relatives attacked nurse Tejaswini Patil, 34, who suffered an injury near her eye and a serious hand injury. Two male security guards and one female security guard were also injured. A doctor commented, 'One of the relatives was a lawyer, yet they reacted emotionally and beat up our staff.'
The hospital unions later gheraoed the dean's office, demanding that an FIR be lodged against the relatives. The injured nurse underwent a CT scan, which was reported normal. She is expected to be discharged on Wednesday.
Legal Action
In her complaint, Patil said the incident took place around 5 am on Tuesday after Kolekar died during treatment. She alleged that the patient's relatives — identified as Gayabai Sawant, Baliram Sawant, Babasaheb Jadhav, and an unidentified woman — assaulted her and the on-duty security staff, hurled abuses, and obstructed them from carrying out their duties.
According to Bhoiwada police, a case has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from duty and intentional insult intended to provoke breach of peace. Provisions of the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions Act, which prohibit violence against medical workers, have also been invoked.
