(I enjoyed re-writing this story taken from rediff.com)


A brave girl saves bullet-riddled brother’s life in a Naxal attack

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): Even as Naxals continue to carry out atrocities on innocent villagers in Chhattisgarh to spread terror to prove their dominance against the government establishment, many incidents of bravery and resilience which occur in day to day life remain untold.

In one such incident, a 14-year-old girl bravely saved her younger brother's life after he was hit by bullets by Naxals when they attacked her home in Chhattisgarh.

Abhijit, the boy, survived a fierce attack when his home in Nakulnar area of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district came under fire from about 100 to 150 Naxals.

His uncle and another acquaintance died in the attack.

It so happened that on the night of July 7, Abhijit Gautam's family was asleep after celebrating his elder sister Anjali's birthday. She turned 14 that day. They were woken up with bullets and grenades after midnight.

His father, mother and brother fled to the first floor of the house, while Abhijit, his sister and grandmother were trapped in a room on the ground floor.

"They wanted my father. I did not tell them where he was. They also wanted his gun. I knew where the gun was, but I hid it under a bedsheet," says Abhijit.

The battle lasted three hours on that fateful night.

Narrating his experience, Abhijit says: "It was dark in the room. The firing from outside destroyed almost everything -- tiles, glass, lights, tables... The bullet hit my thigh, one injured my knee. In the dark I am not sure whether they could see who they were firing at, they were firing from all sides. I've heard Naxals don't kill children. I was bleeding so heavily -- you could fill half a bucket with the blood flowing out of my wounds," says Abhijit.

He tells how his sister, Anjali, a standard nine student, helped his survive that night.

She tied her brother's bleeding legs with a bedsheet, carried him on her back and ran out of the house that was under siege.

Anjali did not stop till she reached their uncle's house, half a kilometre from their home.


Police constable Narsingnath Yadav, one of those on guard duty at the house that night, was surprised to see that little girl’s courage, as he tells: "I saw her run out from my position on the first floor, "She was carrying him on her back and there was firing taking place from the gate. I asked her where she was going and she said she was taking him to their uncle's house."

"Didi should get the President's award for her bravery that night, " says Abhijit.

Anjali was lucky enough to have not suffered any harm to her body during the incident. Today, her father believes that the children will overcome the trauma of that night with the passage of time.

The children’s father Avdesh Singh Gautam says that his son showed so much bravery that night while the courage of his daughter saved his son’s life.

“She was adamant about getting him out of there inspite of the grave danger -- such is the power of a sister's love for a brother,” says Gautam.

"They were children and yet my son got hit by five bullets. He was bleeding and the Naxals wanted to know where his papa was. No one is talking about our human rights," says Abhijit’s father Avdhesh Singh Gautam.

Gautam has been a former vice president of the Kuwakonda Janpad panchayat for three terms (15 years). His wife Pushpa was recently elected vice president.

A member of the Congress party, he refutes his reported association with Mahendra Karma, Chhattisgarh's former home minister who launched the Salwa Judum tribal militia against the Naxalites, and denied being involved in any anti-Naxal activity that would make him their target.

He says that he has lived and worked with the tribals in his area. The Naxals don't like his popularity with tribals.

“I was also attacked by an AK-47 in July 2008. Some CPI (Communist Party of India) workers aligned with the Naxals are against me," he alleges.

The family observed the 13th day of the death ceremony of the passing away of their relative three days ago.