12 YO Bihar Boy Waved His Red Shirt To Stop A Train And Saved 100s Of Lives. What A Hero!

When one thinks of ‘courage’ and ‘valour’ it is usually the armed forces that come to mind. However, when civil citizens have that courage it truly is marvelous. To risk one’s own life in order to save others is commendable act. And even more so when it comes from a mere child.

This boy studying in Class 5, Bhim Yadav showed impeccable courage above and beyond the call of duty. He has saved the lives of hundreds of passengers by making a speeding train stop before it could cross over a broken train track.

According to Gulf News, the schoolboy who studies in a government school in Mangalpur was headed towards his orchards when he detected the railway tracks broken. The Gorakhpur- Narkatiaganj railway line was broken and Bhim ran to the tracks to stop the moving train.

The train driver was unaware of the grave danger ahead. So Bhim flagged his red shirt to stop the train, while he himself shivered in the biting cold. The local district education officer said,

“That is indeed a brave act. We are going to reward him for his bravery, which saved the lives of passengers. The reward could be in form of cash or citation.”

He said that they are still deciding what form of reward he will get, but he will be honoured nonetheless. The official also mentioned that he came to know about the bravery shown by the 12-year-old child through the newspapers and media.

Bhim said that he had always heard about the acts of bravery and courage of others in his area. And that the idea of achieving greatness was growing inside him like a tree. According to India Today, the fifth-grader said,

The railways too are planning to honour the boy for his gallant act. The chief public relations officer of the East Central Railways, Rajesh Kumar said, “We really are proud of this boy and salute his bravery.”

The death toll in India from the derailment of trains in 2016-2017 is the highest it has been in 10 years according to IndiaSpend. As many as 1,394 train accidents were reported in India over 10 years.

Out of that 52 % or 708 were due to derailments. As many as 458 people have died in the country due to derailment in the past 10 years in the country.

We commend the act of bravery by Bhim. He showed exemplary courage way beyond his years. However, it does make us wonder why can’t the government be less callous about public infrastructure and pay more attention to preventing human casualties.