Thane: Local goon nabbed for attacking doctors

The Thane Police on Wednesday arrested the accused who had attacked two doctors of the Thane Civil Hospital.

Dr. Javed Shaikh and Dr. Dibanaz Ansari was attacked by a local goon who had come to the hospital for his treatment along with two-three other men accompanying him.

The hospital doctors had gone on strike earlier, demanding the arrest of the accused.

After six days of wide protests, Maharashtra resident doctors earlier on Saturday called off their strike and re-joined their duties with immediate effect in the wee hours on Saturday.

The announcement was made after meeting Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan, who accepted all the demands put forward by the doctors, assuring the same in writing.

The strike by Maharashtra's doctors, who were protesting a spate of assaults on colleagues by patients' relatives, lasted for six days.

Earlier on Friday, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) called off its strike after the Bombay High Court issued an order that punitive action can be taken against them by the Maharashtra Government and the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) if the doctors do not return to work by tomorrow.

Following the warning, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) earlier in the day assured that they would return to work by 8 a.m. the next day.

Disassociating itself from the strike, the MARD had through an affidavit told the High Court that they don't have any objection if action is taken against the agitating doctors.

The agitators said patients were usually accompanied by a large number of relatives, which put pressure on them. They had demanded adequate security measures and a pass system, where not more than two relatives would be allowed to remain with a patient inside the ward.

In the intervening time, thousands of patients were left to suffer and bear inconvenience at public hospitals due to the protest.