BAHAWALNAGAR: The district health authority has formed another committee to probe the death of a youth who had succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital on May 12 after his family accused the probe of favouring the duty doctor who had referred their patient to Bahawalpur without providing him proper first aid and forced the family to hire private ambulance instead of providing Rescue 1122 ambulance.

The earlier probe could not be completed for reasons known to the health authorities.

The deceased’s father, Abdul Razzaq, a resident of Chak 282/HR, toldDawnthat Ali Hamza (23) was on his way to home when his bike collided with a donkey cart near Fort Abbas at about 10:30pm and the injured was rushed to the THQ Hospital by a Rescue 1122 ambulance.

The family alleged that THQ duty doctor Hamza had referred Hamza to Bahawalpur without cleaning the blood coming out of his mouth and nose.

It added that instead of providing them with a Rescue 1122 free ambulance available at the hospital, the doctor forced the family to hire a private ambulance. It also alleged that the ambulance workers placed an oxygen mask on the patient but failed to switch on the oxygen supply from the cylinder.

When the ambulance arrived at Chak 84/HR to pick up the patient’s family, they noticed he was having serious difficulties breathing and examined the oxygen mask, discovering that it was off. The ambulance crew fixed the oxygen issue but it was too late and the patient died a few minutes later.

The family members stated that when the ambulance crew told the patient’s family about the situation, the family requested that the patient be examined at a local government health facility, but the ambulance team forcibly left them near their home and returned.

They claimed that even after this, the patient survived for around 15 minutes. According to them, the duty doctor and ambulance crew should be held accountable for their patient’s death, which was caused by their failure to clear blood clots in the mouth and nose, as well as a lack of oxygen.

Health sources toldDawnthat on May 16, four days after the family’s statement went viral on social media, the health CEO formed a three-member inquiry committee under the district health officer and directed it to submit its report within 24 hours. However, the family alleged that the investigation team left without hearing them and instructed them to WhatsApp their statements on the committee’s numbers.

The family stated that on the night of May 18, they sent screenshots of their written testimonies to the committee’s WhatsApp numbers; however, when contacted on May 20, they were informed that their statements had not yet reached the committee.

They said that the inquiry committee’s attitude demonstrated that the investigation was not being handled transparently. They sought a strict notice from the relevant higher authorities into the incident.

Health CEO Dr Shaukat Ali informedDawnthat the committee was disbanded when the inquiry’s head recused himself, saying that he could not lead the committee since the victim’s family lacked faith in its members.

The CEO added that another four-member inquiry committee had been formed on Friday and it had been directed to submit its report within three days.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2026