Four braveheart youngsters from Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai lad Mohit Dalvi from Walkeshwar, have been selected for the National Bravery Award. Which will be presented to them by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday.

Apart from Mohit, Nilesh Bheel from Jalgaon, Vaibhav Ghangare from Wardha and Gaurav Sahasrabuddhe from Nagpur (deceased) are the other boys who will receive the award at New Delhi.

Speaking to The Asian Age over the phone, 14-year-old Mohit, who reached New Delhi on Sunday, said he was overjoyed at the treatment he was getting for saving a drowning girl in the Banganga tank in April last year. “I am very happy at the treatment we have been receiving. We were taken to a shop on Sunday from where we bought three shirts, pants, a jacket and white shoes, which we have to wear during the award presentation ceremony. I am eagerly looking forward to receiving the award,” said Mohit, who is accompanied by the paternal aunt Dimple Dalvi. Mohit will be receiving a medal along with a certificate and cash award for his brave act.

Last April, Mohit jumped into the Banganga tank after he came to know that his 10-year-old neighbour Krishna Pashtye had fallen in the water and had not resurfaced. Without giving a thought to his own safety, Mohit dived 25 feet and pulled her up just in time. Doctors from St Elizabeth Hospital at Walkeshwar where Krishna was taken after being rescued by Mohit said that the youngster’s act saved the girls life, as a minute more would have resulted in death.

Dimple said that they had arrived at New Delhi on January 16 and were put up at Kamala Nehru Hotel. “Since Mohit’s parents are no more, I am taking care of him and his elder brother Rupesh. As Rupesh had to attend college I have accompanied Mohit along with my three-year-old daughter Jhanvi,” said Dimple.

The youngsters and Gaurav’s parents will receive the award on January 24 and the awardees will also participate in the Republic Day Parade.