[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] A man in his 70s who suffered a stroke while driving in India was allegedly left without proper treatment for five hours at a police station on suspicion of drunk driving, and later developed paralysis.
His family is strongly protesting, saying the police failed to recognize the emergency medical situation and worsened his condition.
According to local media outlets, including Jagran News, Sharad Kadam, 73, who lives in the Versova area of Mumbai, India, lost control of the steering wheel after showing stroke symptoms while driving around 9 a.m. on the 25th local time and collided with another vehicle.
Police who responded to the scene suspected drunk driving based on Kadam's slurred speech and the circumstances at the scene.
They took Kadam to a hospital for a blood alcohol test and then transferred him to a police station, where he was questioned for five hours.
The actual test results have not yet been released.
However, the family's account is very different.
Rohan Ratod, Kadam's nephew and a local city council member, said police and doctors failed to properly identify the stroke symptoms in the elderly patient.
He said, "When the family lawyer arrived at the police station, my uncle had already collapsed." He added, "He showed stroke symptoms, including slurred speech, but the police judged him to be intoxicated."
He continued, "Because immediate medical treatment was not provided, the right side of his body became paralyzed."
The family reportedly moved Kadam to another hospital around 8 p.m. that day, and he is now receiving treatment.
Stroke is known as a condition where time is critical, since rapid treatment such as clot removal is needed immediately after onset to reduce aftereffects. Medical experts stress that sudden speech problems, one-sided paralysis, or facial asymmetry require immediate emergency response.
The incident has also prompted calls from local politicians for an investigation into the police response.
Police are reviewing the scene response and medical records from the time, and plan to confirm the facts once the blood alcohol test results are released.
Jang Jong-ho, Sportschosun
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
