CMO pulled up for accepting summons without authority

PUNE: The justice (retd) M G Gaikwad committee conducting the inquiry into the Maval firing case on Tuesday pulled up Talegaon rural hospital chief medical officer (CMO) Murlidhar Shamrao Ukhande for accepting summons on behalf of five doctors when he clearly did not have the authority to do so.
Gaikwad was angry when it came to his notice that Ukhande had also accepted summons for one of his colleagues, Amit Patil, who does not work at the hospital anymore.The committee intends to examine Patil, but his new address is not known to the hospital and, hence, he could not be summoned for recording evidence.
He asked Ukhande, "Why did you accept the summons? If you have accepted the summons, then produce Patil before me or provide his new address."
He continued, "I had asked you to furnish Patil's address at the time of filing documents. You do not understand the gravity of the inquiry. Is this 'porkhel' (child's play)?"
Ukhande replied that he had contacted the hospital medical superintendent on the phone and he had authorised him to accept the summons of the doctors.
However, Ukhande's reply did not please Gaikwad, who said, "Is this the business you are doing in the hospital? If you would have not accepted the summons, I would have directed the police to trace Patil."
"Are you the owner of the hospital? Those present in the hospital should have accepted the summons. Why have you accepted it on others' behalf?" Gaikwad asked.
Meanwhile, lawyer Sushilkumar Pise, representing the Maval farmers, examined Ukhande, consultant orthopaedic surgeon of Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital at Chinchwad Sambhaji Shinde and CMO of the Talegaon rural hospital Umakant Kokane.
Ukhande had given initial treatment to injured victims Navnath Garade, Kalu Raut and Tukaram Dalvi and had advised them to get admitted to the hospital for further treatment.
Raut had received a bullet injury on his right arm posterior end, Garade had sustained injury on his great toe and left knee, while Dalvi had received a bullet injury on his right shoulder.
Shinde's evidence was recorded as he had performed surgery on the injured victims Amit Dalvi, Shivaji Varve, Vishal Raut and Yogesh Tupe in the alleged firing. Shinde had removed two plastic bullets from the body of Dalvi and Tupe.
Lawyers Sureshchandra Bhosale and Chinmay Bhosale, representing the Pune rural police, cross-examined the witnesses and brought on record that there were discrepancies of bullet injuries in the case papers and injury certificates of the victims. It was also brought on record that no gun powder and lead was found when the victims were examined for bullet injuries.
The committee counsel Sadanand Deshmukh and former district government pleader Dnyandeo Dashrath Shinde representing the state government also cross examined the witnesses.