Heart attack leading cause of death among Mumbai cops

A heart attack was the reason of death for one in four policemen in Mumbai who passed away last year, dna finds. Of 149 policemen that died in 2014, 38 (over 25%) succumbed to heart disease, reveals the cause of death data provided by the Mumbai police.

Already, in the current year, 13 policemen in service have died due to heart attack. After heart attack, unnatural deaths are the most common cause of death in the police force. "Unnatural death includes all those categories where death does not occur due to an illness. A person may die an unnatural death as he becomes a victim of assault or may be caught in a cross fire or be killed," said a doctor from Nagpada police hospital. 28 policemen died an unnatural death last year. The policemen are also plagued with illnesses that last for years and may be terminal, such as cancer or HIV. Up to 27 policemen died of terminal illnesses. While twelve policemen died of liver ailments, ten succumbed to tuberculosis last year.

Three policemen committed suicide in 2014. This year until May, another three committed suicide, the latest case being of Assistant Sub-Inspector with Vakola police station, Dilip Shirke, who shot himself after killing his senior Vilas Joshi.

Doctors at Nagpada Police Hospital said that stress and strain plagues the police force.

"Policemen, especially among the lower rungs, often have duty for 48 hours. There is no facility for them to have a proper meal. They sustain themselves on junk food such as vada pav. They go through stress as there are no weekly offs. If there is bandobast duty, they have to sacrifice their leave and report to work," said a doctor at Nagpada Hospital, who wishes to be anonymous.

This is not a recent trend, and Mumbai police have taken note of it. In 2010, Mumbai police opened 21 gymnasiums covering 91 police stations. "The gyms are very much running and more policemen should take advantage of the services available to them," said Dhananjay Kulkarni, spokesperson, Mumbai police. "For the past seven years, a healthcare programme for policemen is in place. They can can avail cashless healthcare services in leading private hospitals like SL Raheja in Mahim and Bombay Hospital in Marine Lines," said Kulkarni.

Activists, however, argue that the underlying problem is the issue of staff shortage in the police force. Up to 12,000 police posts are lying vacant in the entire state, said RTI activist Anil Galgali, who has written a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the issue.

Over 300 constables in the south zone were included in a study conducted last year by Apollo clinic in Colaba, which revealed that 51 percent of them were at least ten kilos overweight. Also up to 68% of them had high blood pressure, paving the way to subsequent heart disease. Also, 72% had abnormal kidney or liver function which was detected through ultrasonography.