The Pune police on Monday suspended three constables for dereliction of duty in the case of an attack on a history-sheeter. (File Representational Photo)The Pune police on Monday suspended three constables for dereliction of duty in the case of an attack on a history-sheeter, Tushar Hambir, at Pune’s Sassoon General Hospital on the night of September 5 where two people, including a police constable, were injured.
The Pune police had launched a preliminary inquiry against three police constables, who were deployed for the security detail but were not present when the incident happened. “After a preliminary inquiry, we have suspended three constables from active duty. A department inquiry will be initiated against them,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) Vivek Patil.
Six people have been arrested in the case so far.
Constable Amol Bagad, an on-duty police guard deployed at Sassoon General Hospital, was injured after a group of assailants armed with sharp weapons attacked Hambir (35), who was undergoing treatment at the state-run hospital from August 25. Hambir’s relative Shubham Randod was also injured in the attack.
Security measures for the prison inmates undergoing treatment at Sassoon Hospital are being reviewed after the incident, officials said. The security arrangements for the transport of undertrials between court and prison and the security cover at the hospitals where inmates undergo treatment comes under the purview of a dedicated team from the Pune Police’s Shivajinagar headquarters. “After the incident, security arrangements for the inmates at Sassoon Hospital are being reviewed,” Patil said.
Officials said that hospital authorities prefer that the inmates requiring advanced care or specialised treatment are lodged at respective wards or departments instead of the dedicated separate ward for prisoners. “We have already written to the hospital authorities requesting them to keep the under-treatment patients at the dedicated ward, thus reducing the risk and ensuring better security measures. We have again written to the hospital authorities in this regard,” Patil added.
Within 24 hours of the attack, the police had arrested Sagar Ovhal (22), Balaji Ovhal (23), Suraj Shaikh (19) and Sagar Atole (21). The initial police probe had suggested that the attack on Hambir was a fallout of an old enmity arising out of the rivalry between two criminals gang over area dominance.
Police had seized a country-made pistol, a live round, one sword and one sharp weapon, allegedly used in the crime, from the suspects. At the time of the attack, the assailants had tried to open fire initially, but the country-made firearm had malfunctioned. Three days ago, the police arrested two more suspects identified as Prakash Diwakar (26) and Parvez Inamdar (21) from Kondve area of Uttamnagar.