Times of India
27 March 2010
By Nitasha Natu
Mumbai, India

Docs held for brawl with patient’s kin
Platoons of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) had to be called in at the Riddhi Vinayak Hospital at Malad on Thursday night after a scuffle broke out between the doctors and relatives of a patient. A crowd of nearly 200 people gathered outside the hospital and shouted slogans against the management till 1 am when the cops managed to broker peace. Three of the doctors were arrested on assault and molestation charges. A counter complaint was also registered against the patient’s relatives for assault.

The patient, Kirtibhai Parekh (60), was first brought to the hospital on March 14 when he had trouble breathing. Later, he had to be admitted to the ICCU when his health worsened. His family was told that he would require an angiography. The family members said they had purchased medicines worth a total Rs 1.5 lakh from the hospital’s medical store, as instructed by the doctors.

“Parekh’s son, Sanket (25), has complained that his father was not being looked after properly. When the issue was brought up before the hospital’s doctors, they allegedly assaulted Sanket. Parekh’s wife, Rasika, was also roughed up and we have therefore, lodged a case of molestation against the doctors,” said a senior police official.

Those arrested were Dr Venkat Goyal (46), a consultant cardiologist, Dr Vinay Goyal (44), a thyroid specialist, and Dr Avdesh Mishra (50). A metropolitan court at Borivli released them on bail on Friday.

“The Parekh family did not intend to pay their bill of Rs 70,000. They assaulted the doctors and also hurled abuses at them,” said Kshitij Mehta, counsel for the Goyals and Mishra.

While a counter case of assault has been lodged against the Parekhs, they are yet to be arrested. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.