It is said that not all heroes wear capes. In Mumbai, a man`s act of kindness has touched hearts across the country after he supported a woman in labour and helped deliver her baby on the platform.
The woman gave birth on a train near Ram Mandir station at around 1 am during the night of 14–15 October and her baby`s delivery was made possible thanks to the courageous efforts of a fellow passenger, who followed instructions from a doctor over a video call. The heartwarming episode has gone viral, drawing praise from across the city and beyond.
According to officials from Western Railway, the woman had earlier visited a hospital that night, as her due date was imminent. However, she was reportedly turned away by hospital staff because of the late hour. With no ambulance or taxi arranged for her return journey, she boarded a local train in an attempt to return home. Midway through the journey, she went into labour and her water broke on the train.
An eyewitness to the incident, Manjeet Dhillon, a native of Haryana who moved to Mumbai seven years ago, shared the emotional account with mid-day.com, stating, “As usual, I was commuting by train. The woman was already in labour, and the baby had partially emerged. It was a terrifying moment. People around her were panicking, but one man, Vikas Sarge, rose to the occasion with extraordinary courage.”
Dhillon recounted how Vikas, another commuter on the train, helped deliver the baby with the support of railway staff and other passengers. “Everyone chipped in—the RPF, other passengers. We tried calling multiple doctors and ambulances, but given the time, no one could reach the spot quickly,” he said.
One police officer’s female friend, a doctor, could not physically reach the location either, but offered to guide the birthing process through a video call. Following her step-by-step instructions, Vikas successfully delivered the baby on the platform.
“The mother was in immense pain. The atmosphere was tense. But Vikas remained calm, followed the instructions precisely, and delivered the baby right there,” said Dhillon.
What shocked many involved was the slow emergency response. “We were furious. If Swiggy and Blinkit can deliver food in ten minutes, why did we have to wait one to two hours for an ambulance? Still, we kept the mother motivated. She was accompanied by two women and two children. Her condition was deteriorating. We knew we had to act,” Dhillon added.
An additional challenge arose when it became clear that no scissors were available to cut the umbilical cord. Eventually, someone found a pair, which the group sterilised using heat before carefully cutting the cord.
Dhillon also recorded the entire event, and the video has since gone viral on social media. In the clip, Vikas can be heard saying, “This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this. I was very scared, but a madam helped me over a video call.”
Speaking to mid-day.com, a senior Western Railway Public Relations Officer confirmed the details. “At 12:50 AM, the station master at Goregaon received an emergency call about the situation at Ram Mandir station. By 1:05 AM, he reached the location. By then, the baby had already been delivered. The mother and newborn were transported to Cooper Hospital by 1:20 am in a 108 ambulance,” the official stated.
The Western Railway official added that they would now work to establish better protocols for handling such emergencies in future.
The incident has reminded many of a well-known scene from the film 3 Idiots, in which a baby is delivered on a college campus with assistance via video call, drawing a clear parallel to the swift thinking and collective action witnessed in this real-life event.
