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Mumbai Police Held 73‑Year‑Old at Station After He Suffered Stroke, Family Says He Was Left Partly Paralyzed

A departmental inquiry has been ordered after the family said hours of detention for suspected drunk driving delayed hospital care and worsened his condition.

Overview

  • Family members say 73‑year‑old Sharad Kadam lost control of his car after suffering a stroke on July 25 and was kept at Versova police station for nearly five hours while officers treated him as a suspected drunk driver.
  • The police filed an FIR for rash, negligent and drunk driving based on a constable’s claim that Kadam smelled of alcohol and said he told doctors at Cooper Hospital he had been drinking, though Cooper’s official blood‑alcohol report is still awaited.
  • Kadam was later moved to Nanavati Hospital around 8 p.m., where a separate test reportedly found no alcohol in his system, and he remains in the ICU with partial paralysis on his right side.
  • Relatives and a family lawyer say officers and the other vehicle’s occupant, a doctor, ignored clear stroke signs such as slurred speech and refused immediate medical aid, which the family says caused a roughly 12‑hour delay to definitive treatment.
  • City police have ordered a departmental inquiry to question the Versova officers and obtain hospital test records, and local politicians have written to senior police seeking accountability and explanation for the procedural failures.