Mumbai man Shahnawaz Shaikh sells his SUV to provide free oxygen cylinders to 250 families
Mumbai: 31-year-old Shahnawaz Shaikh has earned appreciation across social media platforms after he sold his SUV to provide free oxygen to over 250 families during the COVID-19 crisis, Mumbai Mirror reported. The report added that before selling the SUV Shahnawaz was using the vehicle as a makeshift ambulance to help people during Corona Pandemic.
When he bought the SUV in 2011, the Malad resident spent extra on a premium number plate – 007 – and a customized music system.
His decision to sell the SUV and provide free oxygen came when the wife of his business partner who was six-month pregnant died of COVID-19 in an autorickshaw, outside a hospital after being turned away from five other hospitals.
When he discussed the incident with his doctor friends, Shahnawaz was told that her life could’ve been saved had she been given oxygen on time. This, Shahnawaz said made him resolved to find a way to help people. He was introduced to a manufacturer by one of his friends. Shahnawaz added that the manufacturer was moved by his decision to provide free oxygen to patients and helped him thoroughly.
To acquire the oxygen, Shahnawaz sold his SUV and his friends spread the word on social media about free distribution of oxygen.
“There are just two simple things we ask from people calling to say they need oxygen cylinders - one, a doctor’s recommendation, and two, that they come to pick it up themselves,” he said. In exceptional cases, like when the entire family is in quarantine, a team of volunteers in protective gear travels across the city with oxygen cylinders. “The farthest we have traveled is from Malad to Haji Ali. Volunteers don’t enter the house and, despite wearing PPEs, maintain social distancing,” he said.
Shaikh said he gives each batch of relatives the oxygen kit and a crash course in its use, which he put together with the help of Dr. Sabauddin Shaikh of Care Hospital. He said, “[Dr. Shaikh] helped us make a video to demonstrate the use of the cylinders. He has also provided other support when needed.” Apart from this, Shaikh also advises each family to consult a doctor on the oxygen pressure required by the patient. “I’m not claiming to provide an alternative to hospitalization. All we can help with is providing life support to people with breathing difficulties,” he said.
Asked if it pained him to sell his SUV, Shaikh’s response was an emphatic “no”. “It’s not hard to give up one car to save someone’s life. Even if I’m blessed by just one grateful family for this deed, I will be able to buy four such cars someday,” he said. Shaikh recalled that just a few weeks ago, at the start of the lockdown, he had used his SUV as a free ambulance for people in Malad. “There are so many poor people in slums in this area who cannot find transportation, even to hospitals. Many of the people I took to the hospital later turned out to be COVID-positive,” he said. Because of this, Shaikh said, he has been taking extra precautions at home. His wife and two-year-old daughter live in one part of the house, which he does not enter unless he has been properly sanitized.
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MP minister's veiled remark on Col Sofia Qureshi sparks major row; he apologises, Cong seeks ouster
Bhopal/Indore, May 13 (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Vijay Shah has sparked a major controversy with objectionable comments that appeared to be directed at Col Sofia Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a "sister of terrorists."
Under severe flak, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he is ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.
The Congress has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Shah from the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.
Colonel Qureshi had conducted regular press briefings, sharing details of the 'Operation Sindoor' launched by Indian armed forces to strike terrorists, joined by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
"Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)..We avenged these 'kate-pite' people by sending their sister to destroy them," Shah said.
"They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists') sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson", the BJP leader said while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore.
He said, "Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists') community to Pakistan".
The tribal welfare minister clarified that his remarks should not be construed otherwise.
Shah's remarks drew wide-scale condemnation, with Congress demanding his immediate dismissal from the MP cabinet.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah, who made 'derogatory' remarks in reference to Colonel Sofia Qureshi, should be dismissed immediately.
"A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made a very derogatory, shameful and cheap remark about our brave daughter Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united during the entire 'Operation Sindoor' to give a befitting reply to the terrorists," Kharge posted on X.
He alleged that the BJP-RSS harbours an anti-women mentality.
"First, the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now the BJP ministers are making such indecent comments about our brave woman Sophia Qureshi," Kharge said and appealed to PM Modi to immediately sack Shah.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari shared the video of Shah on X and asked whether the BJP agrees with the minister's "low thinking"?
The MP Congress Committee alleged that Shah's "indecent' and hate-filled" statement is not just a personal attack, but an open attack on India's military dignity, national unity, and women's honour.
Amid the raging controversy, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh general secretary Hitanand Sharma summoned Shah to the state headquarters in Bhopal.
According to sources, Sharma reprimanded the minister, who also met the state BJP president, Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
Speaking to reporters, Shah sought to attribute the intemperate remarks to his "disturbed" state of mind in view of the brutal killing of innocent people in Pahalgam by terrorists.
He claimed many members of his family have a military background and many were martyred.
"Sister Sophia has brought glory to India by rising above caste and religion. She is more respected than our own sister. I salute her for her service to the nation.
"We cannot even think of insulting her in our dreams. Still, if my words have hurt society and religion, then I am ready to apologise ten times,'' he added.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Manoj Shukla and the party workers blackened the nameplate of Shah at his bungalow and raised slogans seeking his resignation.
'हमारी सेना की जांबाज बेटियां आतंकवादियों की बहन हैं'
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2025
- ये घटिया बात मध्य प्रदेश में BJP सरकार के मंत्री विजय शाह ने कही है।
भारत की जिन बेटियों पर सबको नाज है, उन बेटियों को लेकर ये शर्मनाक बयान दिया गया है। उन्हें आतंकवादियों की बहन बताया गया है।
ये हमारी पराक्रमी सेना का… pic.twitter.com/y591M3ky8G
