Mumbai Police Detain Stroke Victim Over Drunk‑Driving Suspicion, Delaying Care

Seventy‑three‑year‑old Sharad Kadam suffered a cerebral stroke while driving in Mumbai’s Versova area on July 25 and lost control of his car, striking two parked vehicles. Police at the scene interpreted his slurred speech as intoxication, filed an FIR for alleged drunk driving, and held him at the Versova police station for more than five hours without conducting a breath‑alcohol test. He was transferred to Cooper Hospital only after the FIR was registered, missing the critical treatment window; a later examination at Nanavati Hospital found no trace of alcohol. The delay left Kadam partially paralysed and he remains in intensive care. Kadam’s family alleges that both the police and the other driver ignored clear signs of a stroke, and they have called for action against the officers involved.