7 girls, 11 boys set to get bravery award on January 24

New Delhi: Seven girls, including 18-year-old Nazia from Uttar Pradesh who helped police bust an illegal gambling racket, and 11 boys will receive the National Bravery Awards this year on January 24.

The awards, to be given by Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), are divided into five categories — Bharat Award, Geeta Chopra Award, Sanjay Chopra Award, Bapu Gaidhani Award, and General National Bravery Awards.

The most coveted Bharat Award has been bagged by Nazia. She helped the police put an end to the decades-long terror and harassment despite facing threats. The miscreants, whom the police caught, operated an illegal gambling and betting racket. The Geeta Chopra award will be given posthumously to 14-year-old Netravati M Chavan, who lost her life trying to save two young boys from drowning. The Sanjay Chopra award will be given to 17-year-old Karanbeer Singh from Punjab, who demonstrated exemplary courage by helping 15 children escape from a drowning bus that had plunged into a deep drain.

F. Lalchhandama (17) from Mizoram and Loukrakpam Rajeshwori Chanu (15) from Manipur will also be awarded posthumously.

Meghalaya’s Betshwajohn Peinlang (14), Odisha’s Mamata Dalai (7), and Sebastian Vincent (13) from Kerala will be given the Bapu Gaidhani award.

While Peinlang rescued his three-year-old brother from their burning house, Dalai saved her friend from the jaws of a crocodile. The other recipients include Laxmi Yadav (16) from Raipur, Mansha N. (13), N. Shangpon Konyak (18), Yoaknei (18) from Nagaland, Chingai Wangsa (18) from Nagaland, Samridhi Sushil Sharma (17) from Gujarat, Zonuntluanga (16) from Mizoram, Pankaj Semwal (16) from Uttarakhand, Nadaf Ejaj Abdul Rauf (17) from Maharashtra, and Pankaj Kumar Mahanta (15) from Odisha.