Pimpri-Chinchwad: Two doctors are among six people booked by the Sant Tukaram Nagar Police for allegedly playing dhol-tasha and a brass band during a Ganesh Visarjan procession at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital in Pimpri, a designated silence zone. The incident took place around 4.15 pm on September 22 on the hospital premises.
Police said musical instruments were played without the required permission despite restrictions on noise in the hospital area. The case was registered on September 23. The case has added to the ongoing enforcement against noise pollution during Ganeshotsav in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Police have already registered several cases against mandals and sound-system operators for allegedly breaching noise rules during immersion processions.
Two doctors named as mandal office-bearers
The accused include Dr Ujjwala Sumedh Andurkar, president of the PGI Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital Ganesh Mandal, and Dr Shailaja Manoj Bhavsar, its vice-president. The other mandal office-bearers named in the case are Savita Nivrutti Nigade, working president; Amardeep Mohan Chandgude, secretary; and Vaibhav Janardhan Devkar, treasurer.
Onkar Athav, owner of the New Mayur Brass Band, has also been named as an accused. The doctors have been booked in their capacity as office-bearers of the Ganesh mandal, not for allegedly committing the offence in their capacity as medical professionals.
Music played inside hospital premises
According to the police complaint, the mandal held its Ganesh immersion procession within the YCM Hospital premises on September 22. Dhol-tasha and a brass band were allegedly played without permission. The complaint states that the organisers were aware that the hospital was a silence zone and that the noise could disturb patients.
The hospital campus includes specialised medical facilities, including a super-speciality heartcare unit and advanced diagnostics facility. The incident reportedly took place near these facilities. Police said the activity was in violation of the restrictions applicable to the area. No arrests have been made so far, and further investigation is underway.
The incident has also led to administrative action at YCM Hospital. According to a report published on Thursday, 13 hospital officers and employees were issued show-cause notices over the dhol-tasha performance. YCM Hospital Dean Dr Rajendra Wabale and Additional Health Medical Officer Dr Abhaychandra Dadevar sought explanations from those involved.
The hospital administration are expected to decide further action after receiving their replies. PCMC Commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi has also said that such celebrations will not be permitted at civic-run hospitals and other municipal facilities. YCM Hospital authorities are also considering an order restricting religious functions on the hospital premises.
Video of event circulated online
The incident came to wider attention after a video of the performance was circulated on social media. Advocate Ashok Bhagwan Dhaygude shared the video on Facebook. Police subsequently registered the case based on a complaint filed by Police Head Constable Ashish Gaikwad. Â The FIR records no arrests and says further action is pending.
The action comes as police have stepped up enforcement against noise violations during Ganeshotsav. Pune Police has planned noise monitoring at 120 locations along the Ganesh immersion procession route this year. The checks will also cover dhol-tasha groups, apart from loudspeakers and other sound systems. Police have said cases will be registered when prescribed noise limits are exceeded.
In Pimpri-Chinchwad, several mandals have already faced police action over alleged noise violations during immersion processions. In some cases, sound equipment was also seized. Â The YCM Hospital case, however, involves a different issue: the alleged use of musical instruments inside a designated hospital silence zone without permission, rather than a reported decibel reading from the incident.
The FIR and police reports differ on some section numbers and the exact validity period of the prohibitory order. The original FIR should therefore be relied upon for the final legal sections and order dates.
