‘My intentions pure’: Meet Sena MP facing SC/ST Act for making dean clean Nanded hospital toilet

The Hindoli MP was booked by the Nanded Rural Police on the complaint of Dr Shyamrao Wakode, who is the acting dean of Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital where 31 deaths were reported between October 2 and 3, and who is a member of the Scheduled Caste community.

On Thursday, Dr Wakode was booked on charges of culpable homicide over the deaths, with the Opposition accusing the government of negligence for the casualties.

Patil, who is facing charges of criminal intimidation and defamation, as well as under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions Act, remains unapologetic.

“You do not have simple mugs in the toilet… and you shout at people who do not use toilets! Do you doctors and the dean behave similarly at your home?” Patil can be heard saying in a video as he makes Dr Wakode clean the toilet.

The MP claimed to The Indian Express that he didn’t mean to “humiliate” the doctor. “My intention was pure. I did not abuse or even speak rudely with him so as to deserve such stringent sections (against me). But he has filed the case… This looks politically motivated, under the influence of the Opposition,” Patil says, going on to challenge that he be arrested and claiming he won’t apply for bail.

Patil, a tribal leader, joined the Shiv Sena in the late 1990s, and became a councillor of the Nanded Waghala Municipal Corporation in 2002. A year later, he was elected the chairman of the standing committee of the corporation. In 2005, he was a zila pramukh, and by 2014, the Nanded South MLA.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he won from Hindoli. All the MPs of the Sena have declared affiliation to the Ekanth Shinde group, which is in power with the BJP in Maharashtra, including Patil.

Shiv Sena UBT president Uddhav Thackeray questioned the FIR against Dr Wankode, calling it a measure to protect “the traitor MP”.

Counters Shinde Sena MLA Bacchu Kadu: “If the dean is feeling bad after cleaning the toilet, then he should also understand how the patients must be feeling using such a dirty one.”

NCP MLA and tribal leader Narhari Zirwal said the matter had to be handled professionally.

“Our organisations have got in touch with concerned people and accordingly the FIR was registered. Whatever the issue was, it should have been tackled in a professional manner, He (Patil) should have kept the respect of the position he (the dean) was holding. This was insulting treatment,” he said.

Nanded police say they will record Patil’s statement conduct necessary probe.

“We are in the process of verifying the allegations. We are scrutinising the videos and recording the statements of people who witnessed the incident. We will also issue notice to Patil and record his statement and the appropriate action would be taken,” a senior police officer said.