Mumbai: A 70-year-old Andheri resident against whom Versova police invoked drunk driving charges last month and kept him at the police station for allegedly five hours after a minor accident reportedly caused by a stroke, resulting in him missing the golden window for treatment, was not drunk at the time, shows a police probe report.Citing the report, sources said a doctor at Cooper Hospital, where the man, Sharad Kadam, was taken for a blood alcohol test, only did an oral assessment—he asked if he was drunk and the elderly man reportedly nodded in response —and took no blood samples for testing but still declared him drunk. “The FIR was filed based on the doctor’s note. Witnesses’ statements show Kadam was not drunk and that he had suffered a stroke. Two traffic constables who were called for a breathalyser test failed to perform it,” said a source.Kadam’s family has said the stroke left him partially paralysed and his treatment was delayed by nearly 12 hours.The probe was conducted by an ACP, who submitted the report to DCP (north zone-1) Purushottam Karad last week. The final medical test report from Cooper Hospital that shows that Kadam had no blood alcohol content is part of the probe report. A private test conducted the day after the accident at Nanavati Hospital, where Kadam was later admitted for treatment, had made the same observation.Karad did not respond to TOI’s calls and messages. MLA Ameet Satam, who had earlier asked the BMC chief and the mayor to initiate action against the Cooper Hospital doctor who only did an oral examination, said the DCP is expected to forward the inquiry report to the JCP (law & order) this week. “A departmental inquiry is required against all police personnel who sought to frame Kadam,” he said.Alleging malafide intentions, Kadam’s son, who arrived from Canada the day after the accident, said the complainant should have been the doctor whose car Kadam brushed against on July 25 but it was instead a police constable, Sandeep Kamble. He said Kadam has been left paralysed on the right side and he cannot talk. “I have left my job in Canada and I’m running around for medical assistance. I want justice and action against the police personnel whose negligence left my father in this state.” He said Kadam was shifted to another private hospital in Yari Road, Andheri, on Monday.Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer YP Singh said the findings of the probe report warrant a departmental inquiry against the police personnel who registered the FIR without the supporting documents. He added that before the chargesheet is filed, the drunk driving section must be removed.
