An Indian Army doctor performed a life-saving emergency delivery on a railway platform using only a hair clip and a pocket knife, ensuring the safe birth of a baby girl in the middle of a bustling station.
The remarkable incident unfolded on Saturday afternoon at Jhansi railway station in Uttar Pradesh when a pregnant woman travelling on the Panvel-Gorakhpur Express experienced severe labour pain.
She was deboarded in a critical state, according to North Central Railway’s Jhansi Division Public Relations Officer Manoj Kumar Singh.
Witnessing the distress, a female ticket-checking staff member and an Army officer nearby rushed to assist. Major Dr Rohit Bachwala, 31, a medical officer in the Army Medical Corps, was waiting for his train when he saw railway personnel pushing the woman in a wheelchair.
Reacting immediately, Major Bachwala decided to conduct the delivery on the spot, as no medical facility was immediately available. "With no access to a proper operation theatre, I had to rely on tools I had on me,” he told the media agency.
“To clamp the umbilical cord, I used a hair clip. A pocket knife helped me cut it after ensuring the baby was stable."
He said the woman had collapsed near the lift area due to intense labour pain. “There was no time to waste. We created a makeshift delivery space using what was available and tried to maintain basic hygiene. It was divine intervention that I happened to be there,” he said.
The mother and newborn were later shifted to a nearby hospital by ambulance with help from railway staff. Doctors confirmed both were stable.
What made the episode even more extraordinary was that Major Bachwala resumed his journey and boarded his train to Hyderabad without delay. “As doctors, we must be prepared for emergencies at all times, even while in transit. I consider it a blessing that I could help save two lives,” he said.
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