National bravery award winner goes missing in Jalgaon

 A national bravery award-winning boy and his brother are missing from Jalgaon district — prompting the police to form special teams and launch a massive manhunt to track down the two brothers.

The boys — Nilesh (12) and Ganpat (7) — are missing from Muktainagar in Jalgaon district and there are fears that the duo have been kidnapped.

Their parents Revaram Bhil and Sundarbai, who work as labourers in farms, lodged a complaint on Friday evening.

According to the complaint, Nilesh went missing on Wednesday, while Ganpat went missing on Thursday.

“The police have registered a case and an investigation is underway. All efforts are being made to trace them,” senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse, a six-time MLA from Muktainagar and former revenue minister, told DH. Sources said this is not the first time that Nilesh has gone missing.

Not the first time

“Nilesh had gone out of home twice, but for one or two days and had returned,” the sources said.
“The matter of concern this time is that both the brothers are missing. Besides, both disappeared on different days - and this has led to fears that they have been kidnapped,” the sources added.

Award for bravery
Nilesh had received the General National Bravery Award on January 26, 2016, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saving a village boy from drowning in a water tank the previous year.

The National Bravery Award, initiated by the Indian Council for Child Welfare, is awarded to children in the age group of 6-18 years for exemplary acts of bravery.

It consists of five categories, including the Bharat Award, Sanjay Chopra Award, Geeta Chopra Award, Bapu Gaidhani Award and the General National Bravery Awards.
The awardees receive a medal, a certificate and cash prize.

Bharat Award winners get a gold medal, while the others receive silver. The cash amount ranges from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000.