Amid outrage over the death of a Tanisha Bhise in Pune after she was denied admission at Dinanath Mangeshkar hospital, senior Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday called the Mangeshkar family “gang of looters”
Mumbai: Amid outrage over the death of a Tanisha Bhise in Pune after she was denied admission at Dinanath Mangeshkar hospital, senior Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday called the Mangeshkar family “gang of looters”. The former Leader of Opposition said that no member of the Mangeshkar family has done anything for the society and they are a “blot on humanity”.
Dinanath Mangeshkar hospital was started by the Lata Mangeshkar Trust founded by the Mangeshkar family on land given by the government in 2001. The hospital is facing massive outrage following the alleged medical negligence that led to the post-delivery death of Tanisha Bhise, a seven-month pregnant woman. The hospital had asked the family members of Bhise, wife of BJP legislator Amit Gorkhe’s personal assistant Sushant Bhishe, to pay Rs 10 lakh in advance before admission. The family could not arrange the amount and she was moved to another hospital where died after delivering twins.
Holding the Mangeshkar family responsible for the incident, Congress legislative party leader Mr. Wadettiwar said, “The Mangeshkar family is a blot on humanity. They are a gang of looters. Have you ever heard of them donating for any social cause? Just because they sing well, they were appreciated. The act of taking benefits from the government for starting a charity hospital and then looting poor people should stop.”
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar expressed regret over Mr. Wadettiwar’s statement. “The entire Maharashtra takes pride in the Mangeshkar family. All five siblings are blessed. I do not want to tell anyone how to express their views. I will only say that everyone should use words carefully,” he said.
State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule alleged that Mr. Wadettiwar is only trying to impress the Congress high command by making reckless statements. He said, “Mr. Wadettiwar’s competition is with Nana Patole. He is trying to prove to his party leaders that he is more aggressive than Mr. Patole. But he should realise whom he is trying to defame, what is their stature in the society and what language he is using against such highly respected people.”
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe led by a retired judge into Bhise’s death. “A case of culpable homicide must be registered against the doctors and hospital staff responsible,” he said.
A five-member committee led by the Joint Charity Commissioner has found the hospital guilty of violating the emergency care norms that prohibited charitable hospitals from demanding advance payments in emergency cases.
