A visually impaired 15-year-old girl who had recently fought a pervert inside a local train and got him arrested was felicitated on Wednesday by her school authorities.
Her father told DNA that he had received a phone call from Maneka Gandhi, Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development, who sought details of his daughter's case so she could be felicitated in New Delhi.
"The brave girl, who studies in Class VI, was felicitated in the presence of other 160 girls of our school. She was given a trophy, memento, an appreciation certificate and cash reward of Rs 35,000 for the courage she showed," said Principal Varsha Jadhav of Shrimati Kamla Mehta Dadar School for the Blind.
"The girl was very happy and said that her effort would inspire many more girls like her," the principal said.
The teenager intends to become an IAS officer, like her school alumna Pranjal Patil, and India's first visually challenged woman IAS officer, who currently works as assistant collector at Ernakulam in Kerala.
"At the felicitation, the girl's parents and relatives and officers from Dadar Railway Police were present," Principal Jadhav said, adding that the school imparts self-defence training such as karate so that girls can defend themselves in such situations.
Speaking about the courage shown by the braveheart, Jadhav said, "She is very good in her studies and also sings very well. She aspires to become an IAS officer like our ex-student Pranjal Patil."
On December 17, the teenager, a resident of Dharavi, had boarded a compartment reserved for disabled people in a crowded local at Dadar along with her father. A few minutes after the train left the platform, Vishal Singh, 24, entered the compartment and allegedly groped her.
"My daughter responded by clutching the man's finger and twisting it, bringing him to his knees. She twisted his arm and he almost toppled. Our fellow commuters prevented him from escaping and handed him over to the police who were present at the next station," he said.
The man was travelling without a ticket, and had illegitimately boarded the compartment reserved for disabled people.
"On Wednesday, we received a phone call from Maneka Gandhi's office in Delhi. I later spoke to Ms Gandhi. She asked me to email the details of the courage shown by my daughter. A panel would examine what reward should be given to her by the ministry," he said.
On Dec 17, a teen from Dadar School for the Blind brought a molester to his knees in a local. Her father got a call from Min Maneka Gandhi’s office seeking case details