14 May,2017 09:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Shashank Rao
Yet another hospital staffer was assaulted in Mumbai, but this time, it was a drunk intruder who did it, and not the unruly relatives of a patient. The man attacked male nurse with a metal object
Ramesh Pawara suffered injuries in his abdomen and head
Yet another hospital staffer was assaulted in the city, but this time, it was a drunk intruder who did it, and not the unruly relatives of a patient. Following the attack at the railway hospital in Byculla, staffers and the railway union went on a hunger strike to demand better security.
CR's divisional railway manager Ravinder Goyal (centre, white shirt) and other officials try to placate the protestors
The incident took place in the intervening night of May 12 and 13, when Ramesh Pawara, a male nurse, was on duty at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Byculla. Pawara spotted a drunk man trying to enter the hospital premises in the late hours, and asked him to leave. But, the man entered the hospital again. "This time, Pawara asked the RPF staff posted there to get the man out of the hospital premises," said an official from Central Railway, which runs the hospital.
Sources said the man was looking for a place to spend the night. He returned a second time at around 3 am. This time, he was armed with a metal object, with which he attacked Pawara. The accused was apprehended by the hospital guards and handed over to the police.
DCP (Zone III) Akhilesh Singh confirmed that the accused has been arrested and identified as Dattatrey Lote (37). The police also said that the medical examination confirmed that he was inebriated. Lote was produced in court yesterday and remanded to police custody till May 15.
Meanwhile, the National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU) went on a strike from 9.30 am till 11 am on Saturday morning. "He [Pawara] suffered injuries to his stomach and was bleeding from his head as well. We went on a hunger strike to demand better security for our staff and to protest the fact that the railway administration didn't enquire about Pawara even on the following morning," said Venu Nair, general secretary of the National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU).
CR's divisional railway manager Ravinder Goyal and other officials later visited the hospital to address their concerns. "There are RPF staff posted at the hospital at night. We have also asked to enhance the security," said Dr Shyam Sunder, chief medical director, CR.
