Bhushan Kumar Mittal, a 66-year-old daily labourer and grocery shop owner from Sehna village in Punjab’s Barnala district, died of a cardiac arrest on Friday, 13 March, after standing in a queue for a domestic LPG cylinder since the early hours of the morning. He had been trying to obtain a cylinder for two to three days before finally arriving at the gas agency early in the morning.
He was 25th in a line that had swelled to over 130 people by the time of the incident. His wife is suffering from a serious ailment and the family performed the last rites without a post-mortem. The tragedy has ignited political outrage, with Congress demanding compensation, the Punjab Assembly passing a resolution against the Centre and Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri attributing the crisis to consumer panic rather than actual supply shortfall.
The Final Hours of Bhushan Kumar Mittal
Mittal reached the gas agency at around 7:15 am. The agency was scheduled to open shortly after 8 am, but he collapsed minutes before the counter opened, with many in the queue having arrived as early as 6 am. His nephew, Robin Mittal, said his uncle had been waiting for several hours. “My uncle had been standing in line since early in the morning to refill the cylinder. After waiting for a long time, he suffered a heart attack and died on the spot.”
A local resident, Pramod Singla, who also witnessed the incident, said: “He had been standing in line for a gas cylinder. Seeing the long queue, he became anxious and suffered a heart attack.” Mittal ran a small grocery shop and was struggling financially. His wife, who is seriously ill and their married daughter now survive him. Sehna SHO Renu confirmed that Mittal collapsed at approximately 8 am, just before the agency was set to open and was declared brought dead upon arrival at hospital.
A Crisis Rooted in Geopolitics
The circumstances surrounding Mittal’s death are inseparable from a broader national energy crisis. Anxiety over LPG availability has increased sharply in recent days, with concerns rooted in broader energy supply fears caused by the conflict in West Asia involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Many consumers in Punjab visited gas agencies to confirm their bookings or collect cylinders and dealers reported that the online LPG booking server malfunctioned from the afternoon of 11 March. The government’s decision to extend the LPG booking cycle for rural households from 25 to 45 days has further stoked public anxiety, as consumers now have to wait longer before booking a fresh refill.
Politically, the incident has become a flashpoint. Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Dhaliwal from the Bhadaur constituency blamed the Centre for the situation, saying such conditions led to Mittal’s death and demanded that both the Centre and the Punjab Government provide financial compensation to the bereaved family. In the Punjab Assembly, Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains warned that the shortage could affect the hospitality and tourism sectors and disrupt the upcoming wedding season, with some caterers already returning advance payments. Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also supported a resolution against the Centre, citing concerns over rising fuel prices.
At the Centre, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament that the crisis was driven by “panic booking and hoarding at the distributor and retail level” rather than any actual supply shortage, adding that LPG production has been stepped up by 28 per cent. He called on the nation to “stand united behind the energy warriors.” Meanwhile, HPCL stated that household LPG supply remains steady across India and urged customers not to rush or panic when booking refills. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann issued instructions to all deputy commissioners to ensure no LPG shortage occurs anywhere in the state and warned of strict action against anyone found hoarding or selling cylinders in the black market.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Bhushan Kumar Mittal did not die in a war zone or a natural disaster. He died standing in a queue, in his own village, waiting for a cooking gas cylinder, something millions of Indian families depend on every single day. His death is a reminder that policy failures and geopolitical disruptions do not land equally on everyone; it is the elderly, the economically vulnerable and those without digital access who bear the heaviest burden when systems break down.
The government’s assurances of adequate supply ring hollow when a 66-year-old man with a sick wife at home must wake before dawn, wait in a queue of over 130 people and never make it home. Compensation and crackdowns on hoarders are the minimum, what is owed to families like the Mittals is a system that treats access to basic necessities not as a privilege, but as a right.
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In Punjab, A man named Bhushan Kumar died while standing in a queue for an LPG cylinder.
— Nehr_who? (@Nher_who) March 13, 2026
He had been in line since 5 a.m. Bhushan Kumar has now been cremated.
Imagine a country where people die trying to get something as basic as a cooking Gas Cylinder.
What a Shame!! pic.twitter.com/SkO0muQRfy
