Four held for attacking doctors at Thane hospital

Thane: Four persons were arrested in early hours on Thursday for allegedly assaulting two doctors at a civil hospital in Thane on Wednesday, police said.

Muzzafar alias Muzzu Kader Memon (36), Arfad Asim Palte (23), Osama Salim Shaikh (20) and Jishan alias Jishu Firoz Sarang (18) were arrested by the Thane Nagar police.

The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon, when two doctors, including a woman, attached to a government civil hospital in Thane, were allegedly attacked by a patient's relatives.

The mob of around 15-20 people had also vandalised a part of the hospital.

The four accused were produced before a local court on Thursday, which remanded them in police custody till April 3.

Dr Javed Shaikh and Dr Dibanaz Ansari were attacked, following an argument over course of treatment to Muzzu who was brought to the hospital for treatment with an injured hand.

Police are looking for seven more persons in connection with the attack.

The arrested accused have been booked under various sections of the IPC for assault and rioting and under the Maharashtra Medical Services Act.

Meanwhile, the doctors at the hospital stopped work for two hours on Thursday as a mark of the protest.

The attack came close on the heels of a five-day strike by the resident doctors in the government and civic-run hospitals in Maharashtra in protest against a spate on attack on their colleagues at hospitals in various places.