Behind some of India’s biggest medical milestones was a doctor who dedicated his life to making advanced healthcare accessible.
Padma Shri awardee and eminent neurosurgeon Dr Ashok Kumar Mahapatra passed away at AIIMS Delhi on Monday evening, leaving behind a remarkable four-decade career in medicine.
In 2017, he led a multidisciplinary team in a historic 16-hour surgery to separate Odisha’s conjoined twins, Jaga and Kalia. Both children survived, marking a landmark moment in Indian neurosurgery.
Yet, his contribution extended far beyond the operating theatre.
As the founding director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar (2012–2016), he built the institution from the ground up, introducing medical, nursing and super-speciality courses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he continued serving public healthcare by overseeing the creation of over 2,600 dedicated beds across Odisha.
An accomplished academic, he also authored around 870 research papers and 16 books, advancing medical knowledge across generations.
Conferred the Padma Shri in 2025, Dr Mahapatra leaves behind a lasting impact through the lives he saved, the institutions he built, and the doctors he inspired.
Rest in peace, Dr Mahapatra.
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