Kalyan: The arrest of Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre for allegedly assaulting a doctor and a nurse at KDMC’s Shastri Nagar Hospital has brought a chapter of his life back into focus. The four-time Dombivli corporator, currently undergoing treatment at Thane Civil Hospital after complaining of chest pain, high blood pressure and other complications following his arrest, had twice survived assassination attempts because of the efforts of the very profession he now stands accused of attacking.Known as a strongman politician with several criminal cases, including attempt to murder and kidnapping, registered against him, Mhatre had reportedly made several enemies over the years. Police sources said he survived two separate firing attacks. The most serious attack took place in 2008 near the Tata Power House in Dombivli, when assailants allegedly opened fire on his car. According to people familiar with the incident, a pen kept in Mhatre’s shirt pocket deflected one of the bullets, preventing it from piercing his chest. The bullet instead struck his abdomen, leaving him critically injured.He was rushed to a private AIMS hospital in Dombivli, where surgeon Dr Milind Shirodkar removed the bullet and performed emergency surgery, saving his life. In an earlier attack, Mhatre had sustained a bullet injury to his kidney. At the time too, it was Dr Shirodkar who had saved him by operating on him and removing one of his kidneys.Residents and those close to Mhatre said that despite his image as a “tough” corporator, whenever he meets Dr Shirodkar in public, he bends down to touch the doctor’s feet as a mark of gratitude for saving his life not once, but twice.The contrast has become a talking point after Mhatre’s arrest in the alleged assault on doctors and nursing staff at Dombivli’s Shastri Nagar Hospital, an incident that has triggered outrage within the medical fraternity and protests demanding stronger protection for healthcare workers.
