Nurses object to Prabodhankar Thackeray's book, hurl it at retiring officer

Mumbai, Oct 7 (PTI) A group of nurses at a civic hospital allegedly threw books written by Prabodhankar Thackeray and another social reformer at an official who had distributed them as a gift before retiring, claiming the books hurt their religious sentiments.

A purported video of the incident, which took place on July 29, has gone viral on social media, with several people describing it as an illustration of growing intolerance.

Prabodhankar Thackeray (1885-1973) was the father of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.

The retiring section officer of the Kasturba Hospital on September 19 approached the police with a complaint that the video was being circulated to defame him. Based on it, a non-cognisable offence was registered, a police official told PTI on Tuesday.

A senior hospital official said an inquiry was on into the matter.

The officer had distributed the books -- "Devlancha Dharm ani Dharmachi Devale" (The Religion of Temples and the Temples of Religion), authored by Prabodhankar Thackeray, and "Deshache Dushman" (Enemies of the Country), written by Dinkarrao Javalkar.

He gifted them as a goodwill gesture at the Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai, nearly a month before his retirement, sources said on Tuesday.

Prabodhankar Thackeray's book critiques blind faith, religious hypocrisy, and commercialisation of religion. It urges people to separate true spirituality from ritualistic exploitation carried out in the name of God, while Javalkar's book points out that true enemies of India are not foreign powers, but internal exploiters - those who use religion, caste, and superstition to divide and control society.

In the video, one of the nurses is heard questioning the officer about why he gifted them books that, according to her, insulted the Hindu religion.

They later called him to the matron's office and questioned him about it. At the end of the conversation, one of them allegedly threw a white envelope containing two books at him, before leaving the room.

The officer is also seen apologising to them with folded hands, if they felt offended, before they hurled the books at him in anger.

The video was later circulated in a WhatsApp group of nurses of the Kasturba Hospital, from where it was leaked and shared elsewhere, before it went viral on social media, the sources said.

Agripada police station's senior inspector Sanjay Nale told PTI that the incident took place on July 29, about a month before the officer's retirement.

He complained to the police on September 19 that he was being defamed by the circulation of the incident video on WhatsApp groups, based on which a non-cognisable offence was registered, the police official added.

The hospital's medical superintendent, Chandrakant Pawar, said an inquiry was on into the matter. PTI KK GK