At least 17 Shiv Sena functionaries, including the party’s Palghar district and city unit chiefs and the son of an MLA, have been booked for allegedly assaulting and threatening hospital staff over the medical bills of injured Govindas during Dahi Handi 2026 celebrations, police said on Sunday, reported the PTI.
Ten of the 17 accused have been named, while the remaining seven to eight people are yet to be identified, according to police.
The incident took place at Relief Hospital in Palghar in the early hours of Sunday after five Govindas injured during a Dahi Handi event were brought there for treatment.
Police said Omkar Kalwadkar, Akash Patil, Hitesh Chaudhari, Keshav Thakur and Aniket Mahyavansh were injured after falling while forming human pyramids at an event held outside the Shiv Sena central office on Saturday night, according to the PTI.
By midnight, their combined medical bill had reached Rs 19,866. An associate paid Rs 10,000 in cash, police said.
Dispute over unpaid medical bill
According to the FIR, an argument broke out when a group allegedly demanded that the injured Govindas be discharged without paying the remaining amount, the news agency reported.
At around 1.15 am, around 15 to 20 people allegedly entered the casualty ward. Police said they abused the on-duty doctor, Dr Lijomol, and allegedly slapped billing receptionist Vivek Babulinga, 23, who had lodged the complaint.
The group also allegedly entered the intensive care unit, putting other patients at risk, and forcibly removed one of the injured Govindas from the ICU, police said, as per the PTI.
17 booked
The accused named in the case include Shiv Sena Palghar district chief Kundan Balkrishna Sankhe, city chief Rahul Ramdas Gharat and Rohit Gavit, son of MLA Rajendra Gavit.
Others named in the FIR are Manish alias Vicky Sankhe, Sairaj Patil, Rahul Sankhe, Manoj Gharat, Neelam Sankhe, Shubham Bandivdekar and Rishabh Vare, along with seven to eight unidentified people.
The Palghar Police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act.
The charges include assault, criminal intimidation, trespass and unlawful assembly, among other offences.
Police said an investigation is being conducted by Sub-Inspector Vinayak Kesarkar. No arrests had been made so far.
NCP (SP) condemns incident
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) condemned the alleged incident and described it as an attack on healthcare workers and the rule of law.
NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase alleged that the group abused doctors and hospital staff, assaulted an employee and threatened to damage the hospital, according to the PTI.
Tapase also referred to an earlier incident at Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli, where a ruling Shiv Sena corporator was accused of assaulting doctors and nurses, and said such incidents raised concerns about the safety of healthcare workers.
He demanded strict and impartial action against all 17 accused and urged the state government to introduce measures to protect doctors and medical staff across Maharashtra.
(with PTI inputs)
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