Skip to main content

Kailash Satyarthi felicitates two 'real-life heroes' who saved girls from traffickers

By A Representative 

On International Women’s day, Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi felicitated two individuals, an e-rickshaw driver who saved two girls from being kidnapped and a woman cop who had traced 73 missing children in the last eight months.
Lauding their efforts, Satyarthi said, "What Bramhadutt and Sunita have done is exemplary. They listened to their inner voice and stood up for what is right and saved children from clutches of traffickers. They are role models, standing tall in their own right. For me they are real heroes who inspire thousands across the country."
On March 5, Bramhadutt Rajput, a resident of Farukkhabad who lives in Jhilmil, was waiting for passengers near Balaji temple in Vivek Vihar. A man along with two girls boarded his e-rickshaw and asked to be dropped at Chintamani chowk.
However, Bramhadutt could sense something fishy. The man was carrying two rubbish-filled polybags. Inside the e-rickshaw, the two girls, aged 7 and 4 years, asked the man to drop them home only after providing food.
Bramhadutt then asked the girls whether they knew the man and both said no. An alert Bramhadutt then stopped his e-rickshaw near a traffic official and explained the situation. The police then took the man into custody.
After being interrogated, the man revealed that he was Sanjay, a vagabond and a drug addict and had kidnapped the girls to force them into beggary. The two girls were later united with their parents, who were construction workers. Thus, it was Bramhadutt’s courage and presence of mind that saved the girls from being forced to beg on the streets.
Bramhadutt said that he would cherish the moment of being felicitated by Satyarthi. “I will continue helping children and would also sensitise other e-rickshaw drivers on assisting children in need,” he said.
Sunita, a police constable, posted in the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), has reunited 73 missing children because of her grit, determination and investigation skills. Last month, she traced a seven-year-old boy from Vikaspuri, a 13-year-old girl from Mayapuri and two children from Kanjawala.
Out of the 73 children traced within the last eight months, 15 are less the eight years of age. The remaining are between the age of 8 years and 16 years.
Sunita said that while investigating the case of missing children, she visited the parents/ guardians of the children to get possible leads. Not relying entirely on CCTV footage and out-of-the-box thinking has helped Sunita reunite these children with their families. The Delhi police have recommended out-of-turn promotion for Sunita.

Comments

TRENDING

Dalit woman student’s death sparks allegations of institutional neglect in Himachal college

By A Representative   A Dalit rights organisation has alleged severe caste- and gender-based institutional violence leading to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman student at Government Degree College, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and has demanded arrests, resignations, and an independent inquiry into the case.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah  Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

Domestic vote-bank politics 'behind official solidarity' with Bangladeshi Hindus

By Sandeep Pandey, Faisal Khan  The Indian government has registered a protest with Bangladesh over the mob lynching of two Hindus—Deepu Chandra Das in Mymensingh and Amrit Mandal in Rajbari. In its communication, the government cited a report by the Association of Hindus, Buddhists and Christian Unity Council, which claims that more than 2,900 incidents of killings, arson, and land encroachments targeting minorities have taken place since the interim government assumed power in Bangladesh. 

From protest to proof: Why civil society must rethink environmental resistance

By Shankar Sharma*  As concerned environmentalists and informed citizens, many of us share deep unease about the way environmental governance in our country is being managed—or mismanaged. Our complaints range across sectors and regions, and most of them are legitimate. Yet a hard question confronts us: are complaints, by themselves, effective? Experience suggests they are not.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Kolkata event marks 100 years since first Communist conference in India

By Harsh Thakor*   A public assembly was held in Kolkata on December 24, 2025, to mark the centenary of the First Communist Conference in India , originally convened in Kanpur from December 26 to 28, 1925. The programme was organised by CPI (ML) New Democracy at Subodh Mallik Square on Lenin Sarani. According to the organisers, around 2,000 people attended the assembly.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

ArcelorMittal faces global scrutiny for retreat from green steel, job cuts, and environmental violations

By  Jag Jivan    ArcelorMittal is facing mounting criticism after cancelling or delaying nearly all of its major green steel projects across Europe, citing an “unsupportive policy environment” from the European Union . The company has shelved projects in Germany , Belgium , and France , while leaving the future of its Spanish decarbonisation plan uncertain. The decision comes as global unions warn that more than 5,500 jobs are at risk across its operations, including 4,000 in South Africa , 1,400 in Europe, and 160 in Canada .