Man who rescued girl from molestors struggling to make ends meet

New Delhi: Not many dare to intervene when a group of criminals are molesting a girl, not many dare to chase away the teasers armed with guns but a 29-year-old Sanjay, a taxi driver, did intervene and fought with the gang of criminals with bare hands.

The result, he was shot in his leg by the criminals. The incident occured on December 19 last year but what follows is a story of apathy and indifference till date.

The man who made headlines once is now struggling to make ends meet. The bullet is still lodged in his left leg which reminds him of the ordeal he faced in those days, along with the apathy of the police and the indifferent attitude of the public. Everything seems like a nightmare to him and that night still haunts him.

"I had to stay with my brother for 5 months without work. He too has a small job, so I moved out and without work for months I pleaded my previous employer to employ me. I have now rented a room to keep my family. I cry when I see them suffering because of me," said Sanjay.

Sanjay's bravery won him laurels from the media for a brief time but soon the headlines moved to other worthy news.

"I always watched on TV how brave men are awarded even for their nominal efforts, I even risked my life saving a girl. What did I get, a debt of 25-30 thousands which I took for medicines and food and will be paying for the next some months," he said with a sigh.

No politicians visited him, neither did any social worker or an NGO came to his help.

Sanjay is now skeptical about who would feed his children for months if he decides to get operated and get the bullet removed. During these past months he has mastered the art of taming his childrens' wishes.

"I cant afford a bed rest. I have zero balance now, infact I am under debt. I just had courage to fight the bad which I did and will always do," he added.