Darjeeling: After a successful pacemaker implant, ‘Bike-Ambulance Dada’ departed for his hometown from Kolkata on Wednesday. Padma Shri awardee Karimul Haque, popularly known as ‘Bike-Ambulance Dada’, was taken ill and rushed to Kolkata where he was admitted at a private hospital. Actor and Ghatal MP Dev, who is playing the lead role in a biopic on Karimul, also paid him a visit.
Incidentally, Padma Shri awardee Karimul Haque has, to date, saved the lives of thousands of patients across around 20 villages. He runs a motorbike ambulance service, reaching patients to hospitals absolutely free of cost.
On January 7 while attending a programme in the Jalpaiguri district, Haque fell sick. He was rushed to Siliguri and admitted to a private nursing home. After two days, he was shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata where he underwent a pacemaker implant on January 12. “The doctors stated that the surgery was successful and had kept him under observation for two days. On Wednesday, he was discharged and we started for home. The doctors have asked him to rest for a month,” stated Aahachanul Haque, Karimul’s son, talking to Millennium Post.
Actor Dev, who will star in the biopic ‘BAD - Bike Ambulance Dada’ based on Karimul’s life and directed by Vinay Mudgil, and scheduled to go on the floors in February 2026, visited him at the hospital. “He does not look like a person who has had an implant just yesterday. When I told him to take rest, he stated that he needed to rush back as there are many more patients requiring his service. I wish him a long life so that he can take care of many others,” stated Dev.
“I cannot tell my own story. He (Dev) is doing it for me. May this biopic inspire others, specially the youth to be of service to others. May they love and respect their parents,” was Karimul’s message.
More than 30 years ago Karimul Haque had watched his mother die helplessly. He could not arrange for an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Ever since his mother had died, Haque had made up his mind to serve the villages, tea gardens and forest villages dotting the area he lives in, by providing free service to the sick to take them to hospitals.
His journey began when his colleague Azizul, a tea garden worker, fell critically ill and needed urgent hospitalisation. Karimul made Azizul sit on his bike, secured him firmly, and rode nearly 50 km to the hospital. In recognition of his selfless service, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017.