Mumbai, Sep 11 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Friday once again pulled up the Palghar police for their “lackadaisical” approach in probing the case against Shiv Sena workers, who assaulted medical staff and vandalised a private hospital in the district, terming it as “ridiculous and seriously flawed”.
A bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata directed the Additional Inspector General of Police, Konkan division, to examine the investigation and submit a report to the court on September 17 stating whether the action taken by the Palghar police was legally proper.
The high court observed that the action taken by the Palghar police appeared to be “merely superficial and seemed to have been carried out in a manner that would ultimately benefit the accused”.
The bench questioned the manner in which the investigation was carried out so far – from the preparation of the panchnama (spot inspection report) to the station case diary entries.
Between the night of September 5 and 6, several Sena workers allegedly barged in Relief Hospital in Palghar where a few injured ‘Govindas’ who had participated in the Dahi Handi celebrations on September 5 were admitted.
Claiming that the hospital was charging high fees, the party workers vandalised the property, threatened the doctors, assaulted staffers and forcibly took away the injured persons who were admitted in the ICU.
The bench was hearing a plea taken up suo motu (on its own) into the assault that occurred at a civic hospital in Thane in July, in which Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre is an accused, when senior counsel Ashok Mundargi informed it about a the Palghar incident earlier this week.
The police have registered a first information report against 22 persons including Shiv Sena district chief Kundan Sankhe, city chief Rahul Gharat, the son of MLA Rajendra Gavit and deputy taluka chief Rohit Gavit, in connection with the Palghar incident.
Only Gharat had been arrested in the case, while nine others are absconding.
Twelve persons who were initially shown as unknown in the FIR have been arrested, public prosecutor Shishir Hiray told the court on Friday.
Of the nine absconding accused, three had filed anticipatory bail pleas which was rejected, he said. PTI SP NP
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