Man dies in Taloja jail sans Insulin injections for a week

An inmate of Taloja jail, Ashok Sharma, died of poor health while in judicial custody. At the time of his custody, Sharma failed to notify the jail authorities about his need to take insulin injections regularly, neither did the authorities ask him about any health complications.

Sharma was arrested for rioting and assault on OlaUber drivers on October 26, who did not comply and participate in the strike.

Since October 22, the majority of app-based cab drivers have been on an indefinite strike for increased pay, better work schedule and safety measures from lawless passengers. Four days later on October 26, a cab driver from Pune was thrashed by Mumbai’s striking drivers for providing services during the Ola-Uber strike. He was forced to do sit-ups in his undergarments, while videorecording the entire episode. After the clip went viral, four persons were arrested and booked for rioting and assault by the Bhandup police. The arrested persons include Ashok Sharma, Ash Mohammad Shah, Aman Shaikh.

The arrested were produced in a court on October 27 and sent to 11-day judicial custody at Taloja jail. Sharma, a diabetes patient, always needed his Insulin injection to control his blood sugar. However, when he was lodged in Taloja jail during police custody, the jail staff ignored it leading to sickness, alleged the family. Subsequently, Sharma’s health worened over the past weekend and he died at 9pm on Sunday.

The jail staff rushed him to civic hospital, where Sharma was declared brought dead. After Sharma’s family learnt about it, they staged a protest outside Bhandup police station late on Sunday blaming the police for his untimely death. Sharma, a resident of Shriram Pada in Bhandup East had been working as a driver for the last two years.