Shiv Sena leader held for thrashing doctor, hurling casteist abuse

Nagpur: Shiv Sena’s Wardha district chief Nilesh Deshmukh and five others were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a doctor at a rural hospital and hurling casteist remarks.

Deshmukh got into a row with Dr Sumit Ambade at the government rural hospital at Karanja yesterday, after complaining that a person, admitted for scorpion-bite, was not getting proper treatment.

He allegedly beat up the doctor severely and hurled casteist remarks against him. Ambade lodged police complaint against Deshmukh and nine others last night.

Inspector VM Chowdhury of Karanja police station said the police arrested Deshmukh and five other Sena activists today. Apart from assault, Deshmukh was also booked for offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

This is a third such incident of Shiv Sena members getting arrested for assault in public places in Maharashtra in the last few days. On February 26, a Sena man in Thane was arrested for attacking a lady traffic constable, while yesterday another party leader was arrested for beating up a shop assistant in Mumbai for refusing to give free snacks.

Sena is part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in the state.

—PTI