Indore Water Deaths: 69-Years-Old Retired Dhar Head Constable Dies, Excluded from Victim List Over Aadhaar Issue

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): Aadhaar card became an obstacle as the administration refused to recognise a retired head constable from Dhar as a victim of Indore’s Bhagirathpura contaminated water epidemic.

Retired head constable named Om Prakash Sharma (69) died during treatment on Sunday, increasing the death toll to 17. Sharma resided in Shiv Vihar, Dhar. His last rites were performed at Mukti Dham in Dhar on Monday.

He had come to Indore a few days ago to visit his son and was staying in the Bhagirathpura area. Family members claimed that Sharma drank local water and had tea and snacks between December 29 and 30. His health abruptly declined after that, and he began to have diarrhoea and vomiting.

The problem initially seemed minor but gradually became serious. Weakness increased and his condition worsened instead of improving.

On January 1, Sharma was admitted to Bombay Hospital in Indore. Despite initial treatment, his condition did not improve. According to the deceased's son, his condition worsened on January 2 and he was moved to the intensive care unit. He was placed on a ventilator by the doctors due to his critical condition and he stayed there for two days.

Despite all efforts, Sharma died during treatment around 1 pm on Sunday. Family members said doctors tried their best, but the disease claimed his life. During treatment, about Rs 1.5 lakh was spent on medicines and more than Rs 1.25 lakh on hospital bills. Despite this, the family did not receive any administrative relief.

Family members alleged the administration did not include Sharma in the list of epidemic victims, claiming he did not have local Aadhaar card from Indore. His son said illness or infection does not discriminate someone based on his Aadhaar card. The Indore administration has not included this death in the list, calling it a separate case unrelated to the epidemic.