MEERUT: People are praying for his life and calling him a real life hero. Nineteen-year-old Javed is on a ventilator with 80 per cent burns in a Meerut hospital battling for life. At a time when others were fleeing from the burning pandals on Monday evening, he risked his life to save some children trapped in the inferno at the "Brands India" consumer fair in the Victoria Park here. A resident of Mandawli in East Delhi, Javed had just completed his Class XII Board examinations and taken up a job at a stall in the consumer fair to make some money.

His friend Arif, who was also working with him, recalled that soon after the fire broke out, both of them disconnected the electronic gadgets and began searching for the exit. "We saw several women and children lying injured on the floor screaming for help. I tried to help some of them, but when I realised that it would get too late, I ran towards the exit. After I came out, I could not locate Javed. Later I came to know that he had stayed back to help some children trapped inside the pandals that were completely engulfed in flames," said Arif.

While pushing about five children out of the burning pandals, Javed sustained severe burns all over the body. He was rushed to Sushila Jaswantrai Hospital where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. "He is in a critical state," said a doctor on Tuesday, adding that parents of the children Javed had saved visited the hospital to enquire about his health.

Javed's father Mizaz, who was in Bareilly when the tragedy occurred, said: "I learnt about the incident late at night after which I reached here around 4 a.m."

Showing Javed's photograph, the visibly shaken father said his son's face had been completely disfigured by burns.

"We have urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to recommend his name for a bravery award,' said a senior cardiologist, Dr. Rajeev Agarwal. Constable Virpal of the fire department was another person who sustained 60 per cent burns while trying to rescue those trapped in the blaze.

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