The Man Who Turned His Bike Into an Ambulance
Karimul Haque works in a tea garden in West Bengal. For more than two decades he has carried patients to hospital on his motorbike, for free. This is his story, told from public reports, and where those reports disagree.
27 September 2026
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A tea garden worker with a motorbike
Karimul Haque works in a tea garden near Dhalabari, in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.1, 2, 3 Many people call him Bike Ambulance Dada.3
He was born to a poor family.5 His parents were agricultural labourers, and he left school early.6, 8 Reports from 2017 to 2019 put his salary at about Rs 4,000 a month.1, 8
The roads, and the distance
The villages around Dhalabari are hard to reach. The roads are poor and the rivers can overflow.2, 4 One account puts the nearest hospital about 45 kilometres away.3
His mother
In the 1990s his mother fell seriously ill. Karimul looked for an ambulance, but none came.3, 5 Al Jazeera reports that the family had no money for one, and that neighbours would not help.2
She died at home. Most reports say it was a heart attack.3, 5, 6 The reports disagree on the year; see "Where the reports differ" below.
A promise, and a motorbike
He promised that no one else should die the way his mother had.3, 5, 9 He had no medical degree and no money to spare.5 So he borrowed money, bought a motorbike and began carrying sick people to hospital.5, 6, 8
In the accounts, the first patient was a co-worker who collapsed at the tea garden.4, 5, 6 Most reports say the service began in 1998.3, 4, 5, 6, 8 KRC Times reports that a placard on the bike read "Free Ambulance services".8
In 2017 Al Jazeera described him tying a patient to his back with a cloth.2
How it works
The service is free, at any hour, in rain and in darkness.1, 2, 4, 5, 9 A motorbike can go where a van cannot.2, 4 Karimul learned basic first aid from doctors, so he can steady a patient before the hospital.4, 5, 7 The service covers about 20 villages.3, 4, 5, 7
In 2017 PARI reported that local doctors, police and block officials knew his work.1 Al Jazeera added that the owner of the tea garden now gives him more time for it.2
What it costs him
In 2017 PARI reported that Karimul spent about a quarter of his salary on fuel and running costs, and another quarter repaying the loan for the bike.1
How many people?
| Reported | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | About 4,000 lives saved (his own count) | 2 |
| 2019 | About 4,000 patients | 8 |
| 2019 to 2020 | About 5,500 patients | 3, 4 |
| 2020 | More than 5,000 people | 9 |
| 2023 | More than 7,000 lives saved | 6 |
| 2025 | More than 6,500 patients | 5 |
The numbers change with every report, and they count different things (patients carried, lives saved), so read them as a rough guide. Together they say the same thing: thousands of people.
More than a bike
His two sons, Raju and Rajesh, help him.2, 3, 8 The Better India reports that Karimul and his sons learned basic first aid.4 In 2017 he told Al Jazeera that he wants to keep doing this work and that his sons will carry the mission forward.2
The Better India reports that he also runs health camps, checks blood pressure and blood sugar, and can give a saline drip, with video consultations with doctors.4 The Logical Indian says his health camps have reached tribal areas.7
The Better India says he turned part of his family's land into a hospital.4 Zee News in 2023 reported a hospital, a nurse-training facility and a sewing institute on the family's land in Dhalabari.6 In the 2020 lockdown, The Better India says he gave rice to about 1,000 people and cooked food to about 200 families.4
Recognition
Karimul was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017, in the field of Social Work, India's fourth-highest civilian honour.3, 4, 5, 6, 8 He appeared on the television show Kaun Banega Crorepati; Wikipedia gives the episode date as 1 January 2021.3, 6, 7
His story has been told in a book, "Bike Ambulance Dada: The Inspiring Story of Karimul Haque" by Biswajit Jha, published by Penguin Random House India in January 2021.3, 10
Here's what that changes
There was no ambulance for Karimul's mother. Since then, thousands of people have reached a hospital because he came. In 2019 KRC Times quoted him saying he wishes everyone would come forward, so that not a single life is lost to negligence or a lack of treatment.8
Timeline
| 1990s | His mother dies without an ambulance (1995 in most reports; 1991 in Al Jazeera). 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 |
| 1998 | The motorbike service begins, by most accounts. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 |
| 2017 | Padma Shri for Social Work. PARI and Al Jazeera report on his work. 1, 2, 3 |
| 2020 | Reports of health camps, a hospital on his family's land, and lockdown food aid. 4 |
| 2021 | Penguin Random House India publishes his biography (January). Kaun Banega Crorepati episode, per Wikipedia (1 January). 3, 10 |
| 2025 | The Better India reports more than 6,500 patients carried. 5 |
Where the reports differ
- The year his mother died. 1995 in The Better India, Wikipedia, Zee News and KRC Times. Al Jazeera's 2017 report says 1991 and gives her name as Jafaran Nesa and her age as 45. We say "the 1990s".
- The cause. Most reports say a heart attack. Al Jazeera does not state a cause.
- When the service began. 1998 in most reports. Al Jazeera's "15 years" in 2017 and Goodness Exchange's "nearly 19 years" in 2020 point to about 2001 or 2002.
- The first rescue. All agree it was a co-worker who collapsed at the tea garden. Reports differ on whether he had already bought the motorbike, so we do not say which came first.
- How many people. See the table above.
- Schooling. He left after Class III (Zee News) or after Class VIII (KRC Times).
What we left out, and why
- A Bengali film called "Bike Ambulance Dada" and a planned Hindi film: we could not confirm release details or cast.
- Claims about a modern sidecar with an oxygen tank and several vehicles: we found them only in an unsourced summary.
- The year of a television award (2011 in one report, 2012 in another).
- A way for readers to help: none of these sources gives one, so we do not suggest one.
Sources
- PARI (People's Archive of Rural India), Souryajit Nath, Arindam Bachar, Debannita Biswas, 10 February 2017. https://ruralindiaonline.org/article/karimuls-medical-motorcycle-diaries
- Al Jazeera, Priyanka Gupta, 16 October 2017. https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2017/10/16/indias-ambulance-dada
- Wikipedia, "Karimul Haque" (used to cross-check; it cites The Telegraph, Hindustan Times, NDTV and others), read 25 September 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karimul_Haque
- The Better India, 4 December 2020. https://thebetterindia.com/244028/karimul-haque-ambulance-dada-motorbike-west-bengal-first-aid-padma-shri-jalpaiguri-medicine-inspirational-vid01/
- The Better India (web story), September 2026. https://thebetterindia.com/web-stories/health-care/karimul-haque-ambulance-dada-motorcycle-jalpaiguri-12568736
- Zee News, 7 June 2023. https://zeenews.india.com/india/meet-ambulance-dada-check-profile-who-is-bike-ambulance-dada-the-padma-awardee-karimul-haque-hak-who-saved-over-7000-lives-lost-his-mother-due-to-an-ambulance-2618618.html
- The Logical Indian, as shown on the page. https://thelogicalindian.com/karimul-haque-bike-ambulance-padma-shri-122454/
- KRC Times, Sanchita Basu, 29 June 2019. https://www.krctimes.com/stories/karimul-haque-the-bike-ambulance-dada-2/
- Goodness Exchange, Sam Burns, 27 July 2020. https://goodness-exchange.com/karimul-haque-ambulance-india/
- Penguin Random House India, book page, listing. https://www.penguin.co.in/book/bike-ambulance-dada/
How we made this
We read each source, wrote down every fact with its source, and marked where the sources disagree before writing a word. This page and the video use only the facts on that list. The illustrations and the narration are AI-generated. They are not photographs or recordings of Karimul Haque, and the look of the motorbike ambulance follows how it appears in a recent Better India story. This page is AI-assisted and may contain errors, so please read the sources. Something wrong? Write to hello@tengoodnews.com.