Fact Check: Did Agra Police Take Away Oxygen Cylinders From Hospital?

Agra: Even as India is grappling with an oxygen crisis amidst spurt in COVID-19 cases, a heart-breaking video of a man begging policemen not to take away oxygen cylinders from a private hospital in Agra, Uttar Pradesh has gone viral on social media.

“My mother will die. Please don’t take away oxygen cylinders. I request you,” the man can be heard saying as he bows down before the police at the Agra hospital.

The purported video was reportedly shot outside the hospital on Monday evening. The mother of the man in the video was reportedly admitted to the hospital from where the cylinders were being taken away. The video has been widely circulated on Twitter, castigating the UP administration for its alleged callousness.

This is when the man appears in the video amid chaos and breaks down. Son of a critical patient, the man begs police not to take the cylinder. “Please Sir. From where will I arrange a cylinder? I came here after promising my family that I would bring back my mother,” the man is seen in the video clip as he gets down on his knees and breaks down.

Policemen continued their work while another person consoled the wailing man.

Police Version

Agra police have refuted the charge that that they took away oxygen-filled cylinders from the hospital.

On the alleged incident, the Agra SP said in a video statement on Twitter on Thursday, “There was a shortage of oxygen in Agra two days back and people were giving their personal cylinders to hospital.”

“There are two men in the video who are seen taking away an empty cylinder. The man in the video was requesting the police to also arrange an oxygen cylinder for his Covid-positive relative admitted to the hospital for treatment. But, no one was taking away oxygen-filled cylinders,” the SP was quoted as saying by India Today.

The SP said such videos were being circulated on social media to mislead people. “Agra police condemn the spread of such videos,” he added.