Video of Man Begging Cops for Oxygen Cylinder in Agra Goes Viral

Some reports claim the man was begging policemen to not take away oxygen cylinders, although they have refuted it.

Amritsar: Members of medical staff wearing protective gear carry the dead body of a Covid-19 coronavirus victim at a hospital in Amritsar on April 24, 2021. Image used for representation.

(Photo:pawan sharma/IANS)

Amid the oxygen crisis in India, a video of a man in a PPE kit begging before cops and asking them to save his mother’s life, has come to capture the kind of situation the country is facing.

The video from Agra, which has now gone viral, shows the man crying and falling on his knees as he tells some policemen, “Aapke charanon mein vinti karta hoon...Bhaiya meri ma ko bacha lo (I am at your feet, requesting you. Please save my mother).”

While the policemen are seen watching, as an oxygen cylinder is being carried away, apparently from the hospital, by two men.

Some reports claimed that the man was begging the police not to take away an oxygen cylinder he had arranged for his mother, several people who shared the video criticised the police for their “inhumane act”.

A post by the Youth Congress’ handle criticised the state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as well.

However, the police refuted this version. According to NDTV, the police claim he was requesting for a cylinder to be arranged while an empty one was being taken away.

"This video is from outside Upadhyay Hospital. Two days ago, because of a shortage of oxygen in Agra, some people were arranging their own personal cylinders and giving them to hospitals for their relatives' treatment. In this video, an empty cylinder is being taken away by two men. The man is requesting the police to arrange cylinders for him too so his relative inside the hospital can be treated," the report quoted the Agra police as saying on 28 April.

However, the individual who shot the video contrasted the police’s claims and told Times of India, “Cops came and took cylinders filled with oxygen from the hospital. A man in a PPE suit with his mother under treatment at the hospital begged the police not to take away the cylinders. The hospital had no oxygen left to save the critical patients.”