Honour for Malda kid bravehearts: Train saviour, child marriage fighter to be feted
Mursalim, 12, had on September 23 stopped the New Jalpaiguri-bound Up Kanchanjunga Express between Bhaluka Road and Harishchandrapur stations after he discovered a cave-in under tracks
On November 30 in Calcutta, two Malda children—one who saved her own marriage and the other who stopped a rail accident—will receive an award from the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR).
On September 23, Mursalim, then twelve, noticed a cave-in under the rails, which led him to halt the Up Kanchanjunga Express, which was headed towards New Jalpaiguri, between Bhaluka Road and Harishchandrapur stations.
The loco driver had been alerted by the Class VI pupil waving his red t-shirt. Surendra Kumar, Katihar's divisional railway manager, had praised the kid for his intelligence.
The WBCPCR will also give a prize to the 14-year-old Malda girl, a Class VIII student, for resisting her family's arrangement of her own marriage.
In July of this year, the girl had called a Childline hotline, stating, "I want to study further and don't want to get married at this age." Her marriage had then been averted by Childline, the Child Welfare Committee, and the police working together.
The girl, whose identity has been withheld upon request, now wants to serve as a police officer when she grows up and defend the rights of other kids.
District child protection officer Shibendu Sekhar Jana said, "Both the children will be awarded on November 30 at Mohar Kunja in Calcutta." He also mentioned that district social welfare workers will transport the children to Calcutta.
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