Boy from State bags bravery award for saving schoolkids

A Karnataka boy who saved schoolchildren, a teenage acid attack survivor from Uttar Pradesh and a young girl who fought with a leopard to save her sister were among the 24 winners of the prestigious National Bravery Award for their extraordinary feats.

Sahanesh R, a Class IX student from Solur in Karnataka’s Ramanagar district, was chosen for the award for saving schoolchildren who met with an accident on June 5 last year, while returning home.

The accident occurred when the bus driver tried to avoid hitting a motorcyclist who was overtaking a car. “The bus fell into a paddy field beside the road,” Sahanesh, a student of Mahateshwara school in Kodur, told Deccan Herald.

Trapped inside, the children started screaming and shouting. “Breaking the front glass of the bus, Sahanesh pulled the students and the driver out of the bus.
Sahanesh and his brother received some injuries in the accident. Sahanesh saved several lives with his resolute, courageous and timely act,” the citation read.

Sahanesh, who was accompanied by his father M Rajesh, said he was “very happy” for being selected for the award and dedicated it to his “ever encouraging” teacher Padmanabha and friends.

The highest among the recognition - Bharat Award - was given to 16-year-old Reshma Fatma of Uttar Pradesh, who survived an acid attack after she refused the marriage proposal from her 38-year-old maternal uncle. “Reshma displayed grit and determination in fearlessly fighting off her tormentor,” the citation said.

“I wonder what if the acid was not so easily made available to him. He poured acid only because I turned down his proposal. Don’t women even have the right to refuse today,” she asked.

Thirteen-year-old Ashwini Bandu Ughade, who hails from Maharashtra, won the award for her “extraordinary bravery” by saving her sister from a ferocious leopard. Ashwini and her sister Rohini were returning from a neighbouring farm after collecting mangoes when the leopard attacked the latter.

“The leopard had caught Rohini’s head in its jaws and her legs in its paws. I hit the leopard on its head with mangoes and pulled her out of the animal’s jaws following which it fled,” she said.