21-year-old dies after ambulance oxygen runs out in MP; probe ordered

Ajit Baraiya, a resident of Sunhara Mal village, died on July 27 while being transferred from Bamhani Hospital to Mandla with oxygen support

A 21-year-old died in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district allegedly after the oxygen supply in an ambulance cylinder ran out while he was being shifted to a district hospital, his father alleged.

Ajit Baraiya, a resident of Sunhara Mal village, died on July 27 while being transferred from Bamhani Hospital to Mandla with oxygen support. The administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Mandla collector Rahul Namdev Dhote has constituted a four-member committee to probe the matter. “The committee has been instructed to submit its report at the earliest, based on which further action will be taken,” Dhote said.

Ajit’s father alleged that the cylinder ran out during the three-hour journey, leading to respiratory failure. The family also recorded a video showing the ambulance’s oxygen gauge at zero.

Collector Dhote said Ajit had been suffering from a severe kidney ailment for a long time. “He was referred to the district hospital with oxygen support. His father alleged that the cylinder ran out during the journey, causing his death,” Dhote said.

The opposition has raised the issue, demanding a high-level inquiry into the functioning of ambulance services in Madhya Pradesh. “There is a need to examine the working and facilities of the 108 services. This is a very serious matter, as a youth lost his life due to the negligence of ambulance attendants,” Congress MLA and former minister Jaivardhan Singh said.

I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More