Delhi Bus Marshal Rescues Minor From Getting Kidnapped, Earns Praise

Quick action in a sensitive situation led 24-year-old Delhi Bus Marshal, Arun Kumar to save a six-year-old girl from getting kidnapped. Not only did he save the girl by foiling a kidnapping bid, but he also managed to catch the accused. Kumar was posted in a cluster (orange) bus on Wednesday in Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan area when around 11 am he became suspicious of a child crying next to a man.

“Suspecting something was wrong, I alerted the driver who locked the gates of the bus. Once that was done, the accused tried all means to escape, but with the help of the conductor, driver and other passengers, we overpowered him and took him to the police station,” he said, HT reported. The bus was moving on Route 728, from Goyala Dairy to New Delhi.

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He further told, “The child and the man took the bus from Palam flyover. The child kept crying and the man couldn’t calm her down. Through her body language, I felt something was not right so I confronted the man. He tried to flee, and I asked the conductor, Virendra, to shut both gates of the bus.”

After Kumar caught the accused, the bus driver took the bus towards Subroto Park police post and Kumar called the PCR. DCP (Railways) Harendra K Singh said that Kumar's description of the child matched the description of a child who went missing around 6 am from platform number six of Nizamuddin railway station, Indian Express quoted.

“We realised it was the same girl. She had gotten off the UP Sampark Kranti with her parents and two younger siblings. We will award Rs 2,000 each to the marshal and conductor as well as a commendation certificate,” said Singh. The man who almost kidnapped the girl has been identified as Satish Kumar, resident of a slum near Sector 2 in Dwarka.

“Kumar was thoroughly interrogated, in which he revealed that he had kidnapped the child and immediately brought her by bus Route number 711 to Uttam Nagar Terminal and then Palam Railway Station. He again boarded a bus on Route number 728 from Palam flyover to New Delhi Railway Station. It was during this ride that the staff made the rescue,” he said.

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"The child and the man took the bus from Palam flyover. The child kept crying and the man couldn’t calm her down. Through her body language, I felt something was not right so I confronted the man. He tried to flee, and I asked the conductor, Virendra, to shut both gates of the bus."

Kumar was inducted in the service as a civil defence volunteer by the government’s revenue department last month and it is his first job. Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and transport minister Kailash Gahlot recognised Kumar's efforts. Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi, “My salute to bus marshal Arun Kumar. People like you are the pride of Delhi. Our 13,000 bus marshals are providing security to lakhs of passengers. People are having faith in the safety inside the buses.”

बस मार्शल अरुण कुमार जी को मेरा सलूट। आप जैसे लोग दिल्ली की शान हो। हमारे 13,000 बस मार्शल दिल्ली के लाखों बस यात्रियों को सुरक्षा दे रहे हैं। बसों के अंदर की सुरक्षा पर लोगों का विश्वास बनता जा रहा है। pic.twitter.com/6AnXqKSnGb

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 21, 2019

While Gehlot organised a press conference to address this incident where he said, “We are often asked why there is a need for bus marshals… today I’m happy to report this instance… From October 29 to today, bus marshals have averted several untoward incidents of pickpocketing. Bus marshals who show courage and presence of mind will be rewarded.”

Picture credit: HT