This story is from November 18, 2014

State salutes braveheart

Class IX student Gunjan Sharma, who had ‘volunteered’ to be held hostage in order to rescue 10 of her schoolmates on December 4, 2013, received the first-ever state bravery award on Monday.
State salutes braveheart
Guwahati: Class IX student Gunjan Sharma, who had ‘volunteered’ to be held hostage in order to rescue 10 of her schoolmates on December 4, 2013, received the first-ever state bravery award on Monday.
The 14-year-old student, then in Class VIII in Nazira Kendriya Vidyalaya in Sivasagar, had been among 11 students whose school van had been captured by an unidentified gunman at Simaluguri in Sivasagar district.

“The kidnapper picked up a small girl who began crying. I volunteered to be held hostage instead. He clutched my hand and ran into the forests with me,” Gunjan had said after being rescued a day later from the house of a tea garden worker along the Assam-Nagaland border.
An elated Gunjan thanked the state government for the honour.
“I’m feeling great. We should never be afraid under any circumstance. If we march ahead, a solution will always be found. Sometimes, we should learn to think beyond ourselves and work for the welfare of others,” Gunjan said after the event at Sankardev Kalakshetra auditorium in the city.
She received Rs 2 lakh in cash, a citation, a pair of tracksuits and a blazer. State sports minister Ajit Singh handed over the award to Gunjan.
She was supposed to have received the award on January 1 this year, but the programme had to be postponed after a road accident on the eve of the programme left her injured.
Several sportspersons who have performed well at various national and international events were also feted by the government.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA