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

Beyond India-China borders: Economic links expand, political gaps persist

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  Despite growing trade between India and China, a persistent trust deficit continues to shape their bilateral relationship. Expanding economic engagement has not fully resolved political differences, many of which stem from historical legacies as well as contemporary geopolitical concerns. Border disputes—often traced to colonial-era arrangements—remain a significant obstacle to deeper cooperation, while differing strategic alignments in global affairs add further complexity.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah   I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

Operation Epic Fury: Making America great at the world’s expense?

By N.S. Venkataraman*  ​The decades-long enmity between Iran and Israel is well-documented, but historically, their direct confrontations have been brief, constrained by the logistical and economic limitations of sustained warfare. The current conflict in the Middle East, however, marks a radical and dangerous departure from this pattern. 

India has been getting its economic growth wrong for two decades, say top economists

By Jag Jivan*   India's official GDP figures have misrepresented the trajectory of the world's fifth-largest economy for the better part of two decades, according to a major new working paper published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). It finds that India overstated annual growth by up to two percentage points after 2011 — and understated it during the boom years of the 2000s.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah  Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative   Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Fair prices, fresh produce: Vegetable market opens in Rajasthan tribal village

By Vikas Meshram*  On 18 March 2026, the tribal village of Sajjangarh in southern Rajasthan witnessed the grand and dignified inauguration of a new vegetable market (mandi). Established through the tireless joint efforts of the Krushi Avam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Bhilkuaan) and Vaagdhara, under the active leadership of the Gram Panchayat of Sajjangarh, the market is being hailed as a cornerstone for local self-governance, self-reliance, and a sustainable rural economy. 

Ex-IAS Atanu Chakraborty and a tale of two different Gujarat vision documents

By Rajiv Shah  The likely appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as HDFC Bank chairman interested me for several reasons, but above all because I have interacted with him closely during my more than 14 year stint in Gandhinagar for the “Times of India”. One of the few decent Gujarat cadre bureaucrats, Chakraborty, belonging to the 1985 IAS batch, at least till I covered Sachivalaya was surely above controversies. He loved to remain faceless, never desired publicity, was professional to the core, and never indulged in loose talk. When he neared retirement, which happened in April 2020, first there were rumours in Sachivalaya that he would be appointed SEBI chairman, and then there was talk he would be chairman (or was it CEO?) of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City (a dream project of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister, which as Prime Minister Modi wants to promote, come what may). But, for some strange reasons, and I don’t know why, none of this happened, despite the fact...