New Delhi   

DTC driver honoured

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

BRAVEHEARTS: The winners of the 14th Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards. Photo: S Subramanium

NEW DELHI: The 14th Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards for Delhi were presented by Jyotiraditya Scindia, Member of Parliament, at a function organised at Le Meridien hotel here on Tuesday. The winners in the "Physical Bravery" and "Social Acts of Courage" categories were presented with gold, silver and bronze medals along with cash prizes and certificates.

The awards now cover 16 States across the country. This year the gold medal for physical bravery went to Kuldeep Singh, a driver of the Delhi Transport Corporation who was seriously injured while throwing a bag which contained a bomb on October 29 last year. While his act of courage saved the lives of a large number of passengers, Kuldeep Singh was grievously injured as the bomb exploded. He spent almost the whole of last year in hospital undergoing a series of operations to save his eyes and arms.

The silver medal in the same category went to a poor ice-cream seller, 22-year-old Lalu Chouhan, who lost his life while trying to save two children from drowning in a drain. Though Lalu managed to push one boy out of the drain, he died in the process of saving the other one. The lone earning member of his family, Lalu is survived by his wife and two children.

The third prize for physical bravery went to 38-year-old Abhiram Rout who risked his life and suffered two gunshot wounds in trying to foil a robbery and nab two armed intruders who had broken into a house in Sector 25 of Noida in November 2005. Another bronze medal was awarded to Mohit, a driver of Star TV, who showed great presence of mind and courage in saving two women reporters of the channel who were being harassed by some person who followed their vehicle in an Indica car. Despite a physical attack by the culprits, Mohit managed to reach a police picket, forcing the culprits to flee.

A special award for physical bravery was presented to Harry Choudhary, who without caring for his life tried to save his sister from a man who had attacked her with a knife at Paschim Vihar in West Delhi in July 2004. Though his sister, Ritika, was killed in the attack, Harry prevented the accused from escaping by throwing away his motorcycle keys.

For social acts of courage the gold medal was presented to Muskaan Parents' Association for the Welfare of Mentally Challenged Children. The silver medal was presented to 43-year-old Antony who has been running the Divya Jyoti Ashram for orphaned and destitute children and his wife Grace who is a qualified nurse and who works closely with the mission. The bronze medal went to Karam Marg, a voluntary organisation, which has been working with abandoned children, who are forced to live on the streets for no fault of their own.

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