It is said that once a soldier always a soldier and Bishnu Shrestha (35), an Ex-Gurkha soldier of Indian army proved it absolutely correct on September 2, 2010 while travelling in Maurya Express. He was calmly sitting on his window seat when the train entered the dark jungles of West Bengal. He had just retired from the designation of Naik from the Gurkha Infantry, the same infantry his father also served as a soldier.
Around midnight, the train stopped suddenly and some armed robbers entered the train, they with their accomplices who were travelling in train, posing as travellers started looting the passengers. The passengers were frightened and the robbers were taking everything from them whether, its wallet, jewellery, laptops or watches by showing them their weapons and threatening them to harm them.
Bishnu later told this to The Times of India about the incident, “Suddenly, there were shouts and the sound of running feet. Somebody pulled at my bedclothes. I sat up and found a number of people standing near my feet. They demanded that I hand over all my cash and valuables. There was confusion all around and I shouted that I am an Indian Army jawan [infantryman]. The criminals backed off and turned their attention [elsewhere]…. They started snatching jewelry, cell phones, cash, laptops and other belongings from the passengers.”
Bishnu had decided from the beginning that he will quietly hand over his belongings to the robbers and remain safe; obviously money is not more important than life. He would have not changed his decision if the robbers had not decided to gang-rape a girl of 18 in front of her parents. This was not something which Bishnu can bear.
It was time for the soldier to bring out his “Kukri”, so he did that and fought the robbers bravely. He overpowered the robbers who attacked the girl, and made him a human shield. He killed three robbers and eight received major injuries while rest of them ran away, saving their lives from this hero of our Indian Army.
Bishnu also got a grave blade injury in his left hand but this doesn’t stop him from protecting his fellow passengers. Everything was over in 20 minutes and as the train reached the next station, Bishnu was taken to hospital by the police and emergency personnel. He was in hospital for 2 months; police also got the hold of eight injured robbers and recovered various items worth Rs. 4, 00,000. Some items police got from the sight as robbers dropped them when they ran away to save their life.
Bishnu was awarded with two medals for the extraordinary bravery shown by him, he also received a silver-plated kukri and a cash bonus of Rs. 50,000 and the prize money also which was on the robbers. The girl whom Bishnu saved, her family also offered a big amount to Bishnu but he denied it saying, “Fighting the enemy in battle is my duty as a soldier. Taking on the thugs on the train was my duty as a human being.”
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