Mumbai: A 35-year-old police constable attached to Kherwadi Police station was allegedly hit by a speeding biker at a nakabandi checkpoint in the early hours of Friday. The constable Shankar Magar, who sustained a fracture to his right leg, near the knee, was allegedly denied admission in Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai Central as he did not have an RT-PCR test and after a short struggle, he finally was admitted at SL Raheja Hospital in Mahim, where he is undergoing treatment.
According to police, the incident occurred around 3.30am, when Magar was on night duty at a nakabandi point near Kherwadi on the Western Express Highway. The accused biker, an 18-year-old youth Sahil Shaikh, was on his way to Mahim, failed to control his speed despite applying brakes and dashed into Magar, injuring his right leg. While the teen was arrested immediately and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for rash driving, Magar was rushed to the civic-run Bhabha Hospital, where preliminary examination revealed that he has sustained a fracture and was asked to visit another hospital for treatment.
Police officials then took Magar to Wockhardt Hospital, where he was asked to get an RT-PCR test to begin with the treatment. While police alleged that he was denied admission in the hospital due to the absence of RT-PCR test, the hospital authorities said that Magar's vitals were examined and was asked to return with the test, in compliance with the standard procedures in the COVID times. The statement released by the hospital read, "Wockhardt Hospitals has always been at the forefront of healthcare during the pandemic and has ably supported Mumbai police and other frontline workers in treating COVID and non-COVID diseases throughout the years. We will continue to support our frontline workers at all times."
Magar was then taken to civic-run Nair Hospital, where they conducted his tests, X-ray and shifted him to Raheja Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Magar will undergo a surgery on his right knee on Saturday and is now out of danger, said an official.
