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Thane: A court in Maharashtra's Thane district sentenced nine persons to a maximum of two years of rigorous imprisonment for attacking medical staff and damaging property at a government hospital here.
Additional sessions judge A N Sirsikar found that the accused, motivated by dissatisfaction with the medical treatment of a deceased relative, formed an unlawful assembly, assaulted medical staff and damaged hospital property.
The order passed on September 30 was made available on Saturday.
As per the details of the case filed by a medical officer, the incident occurred on July 20, 2013, when a patient was brought dead to the Thane Civil Hospital.
Additional public prosecutor R G Kshirsagar told the court that after the patient was pronounced dead, his relatives attacked the medical staff and damaged hospital property, blaming the doctors for not acting in time.
During the proceedings, the court emphasised the crucial role of public servants in maintaining emergency services, highlighting that medical professionals should be allowed to perform their duties without fear of violence or intimidation.
The judge said, "A public servant is a servant of society and needs social protection so that he is not demoralised in the performance of his duty. The public must ensure that medical officers can serve free from fear." The court convicted nine accused, all residents of the Mumbra area, and sentenced them to various terms of rigorous imprisonment, including three months for unlawful assembly, one year for rioting, and another year for voluntarily causing hurt.
Apart from this, the court imposed a sentence of two years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000 each under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
One of the accused in the case was acquitted of all charges due to insufficient evidence against him, and another accused died during the pendency of trial, and the case against him was abated.