This in turn sparked off a spontaneous strike by the hospital staff.Police said Mishra was shot at his residence in Haridas Shukla Chawl, room no 12 at around 5.30 am. One of the two assailants fired one round from close range injuring Mishra seriously. He was first rushed to the Metropolis Nursing Home at Carter Road no 5 where Dr Narendra Kumar Jain refused to admit him saying it was a ``police case.'' Brijesh Kumar, Mishra's nephew, then took him to Bhagwati Hospital at around 5.40 am where Dr Yogita Kamwani admitted him to the casualty ward. He was later wheeled to the operation theatre's examination room where Dr D V Bhagat, who was attending to another patient, checked him briefly. Dr Bhagat, however, soon left promising that he would be back in a while. When he returned, at around 7.30, Mishra had breathed his last.

Subsequently, an angry mob, comprising mostly BJP activists, let loose a reign of terror in the hospital smashing furniture, chasing nurses and roughing up doctors. They didn't even spare Medical Superintendent Dr C Prabhakaran, who was reportedly slapped.

Later, a part of the mob proceeded to Dr Bhagat's nursing home near the hospital and ransacked it. The six nurses of the 20-bed private general nursing home locked themselves up in a toilet for more than 20 minutes while the mob ran amok, said Dr G M Chhadwa, a friend of Dr Bhagat.

Back at Bhagwati hospital the rioting had led to an impromptu strike and all wards were left unattended from 8 am to 2.30 pm. Confusion reigned supreme in the 42-bed gynaecology ward where nine patients due for various operations were asked to leave. Nasreen, Meena and Sharada Joshi, among the nine patients, had none to guide them. They were admitted last night and had had nothing to eat since morning. They were asked to come next Friday, but since no one was there to sign their discharge papers, they could not even leave.

Sunita Tambre, 30, who had undergone a major operation of her spine last night had only an empty drip next to her bedside. Empty glucose bottles were seen in the Children's ward too. The 30-bed Post Natal Care ward was almost fully occupied. ``Even asking the ayahs to refill the water tumblers proved to be difficult here,'' said Lata Patel, 25, a first-time mother. Next to her bed lay Manisha Gholap who had only delivered a baby last night and was too weak to even move. Yet no one was there to take care of her baby's needs. The staff returned to work only after the strike was called off late in the afternoon following the intervention of senior officials, including Sardar Tara Singh, chairman of Civic Health Committee, who assured that a one-man inquiry would be conducted into the incident by Dr Y N More, retired medical superintendent of Cooper Hospital.

As the hospital settled into the routine, it was time for trading charges. Deputy Mayor Gopal Shetty, who rushed to the hospital, told newspersons that Mishra was conscious when he was brought to the hospital. Shashi Jain, BJP North Mumbai's South cell, president said that for two hours after he was brought in, Mishra was not given any treatment. He alleged that even the anesthetist had refused to help.

Medical Superintendent Dr Prabhakaran, however, insisted his staff had done ``their best to revive Mishra.'' She explained that he could not be operated upon immediately because his blood pressure was very low. ``There was no way an operation could have been performed on him in that condition,'' she said. Prabhakaran also denied that the anesthetist had refused to help. Dr Bhagat has now been provided with personal security and two platoons of State Reserve Police Force have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of Police (crime) Pradeep Sawant told Express Newsline that preliminary investigations revealed that Mishra's murder was a fallout of a previous enmity. This is evident from the fact that he knew the assailants, he said, and added that so far there was no evidence to suggest involvement of an underworld gang. Investigators confirmed that Mishra had not complained to the police about any threat to his life, but they have reasons to suspect that the killing could be a fallout of a property dispute at the victim's native place in Uttar Pradesh.Mishra, 52, besides being the BJP president of the Borivli unit, was also a reputed fruit vendor in the area. He owned a fleet of handcarts around Borivli railway station. The news of Mishra's death spread like wild fire in Borivli and shopowners downed their shutters after a group of BJP activists began patrolling trying to enforce a `bandh'. Rickshaws too went off the road adding to the rush-hour chaos.