VALPOI
A youth from Valpoi, who saved two minor brothers from drowning, will be conferred with the prestigious Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak award.
The President of India approved the conferment of the prestigious Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak on Sahil Bisso Lad, as part of the Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards-2023. Thirty-one persons will be conferred with the awards, which include Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak (3), Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak (7) and Jeevan Raksha Padak (21). Three awardees are posthumous.
Sahil will be awarded the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak and a cash amount of Rs 1.5 lakh for courage and promptitude in saving life under circumstances of great danger to the life of the rescuer.
Sahil’s act of bravery took place on November 9, 2021 when the three brothers, Irfan Shaikh (15), Asif (13) and Rehan (10) had gone for a swim in the Nanus river at Betkekarwada.
A woman and her daughter who had gone to the river to wash clothes, noticed the three brothers in distress and alerted other family members. Sahil rushed to the spot and managed to rescue Asig and Rehan, but Irfan drowned in the river.
The Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards, an offshoot of the Ashoka Chakra series of Gallantry awards, were instituted in 1961. The award is given for a meritorious act in saving the life of a person in cases like drowning in water, accidents, fire incidents, electrocution, natural calamities, etc.
