14-Yr-Old Brave Girl Offers Herself To Kidnapper To Save 10

14-Yr-Old Brave Girl Offers Herself To Kidnapper To Save 10

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In a rare act of bravery, 14-year-old Gunjan Sarmah volunteered to be
kidnapped in order to save the lives of 10 other kids from their school
van at Simaluguri in Sivasagar district of Assam on Wednesday, India.
And not just that, she lumbered through dense forest on Thursday along
the Assam-Nagaland border, where she was left abandoned by her
armed kidnapper, and reached the house of a tea garden worker who
called the police. Her ordeal lasted around 14 hours.

"The kidnapper picked up a small girl in the school van who started
crying. I volunteered to be kidnapped instead. He clutched my hand and
ran with me towards the forests," Gunjan told reporters at her home in
Simaluguri.
"We crossed a river and walked through the forest for some time and
stopped at one place. It was pitch dark and I couldn't see a thing.
I didn't eat anything all night. In the morning, I couldn't see him and
escaped to reach a village. The villagers called up police and I was
brought home," she added.

Sivasagar DSP Bijay Kuligam told TOI, "When I spoke to her this
morning, she was very calm. She even referred to her kidnapper as
'uncle'." But for Gunjan's father, Shankar, a small-time trader, it was a
torrid time.
"I was despairing when she was kidnapped. I even thought I'd never send
her to school again. She is safer at home," he said.

The unidentified gunman had hijacked the entire van with 11 kids of
Nazira Kendriya Vidyalaya from the heart of Simaluguri town in
Sivasagar district on Wednesday when they were returning home.
The driver, who displayed presence of mind, immobilized the van after
driving it into a drain in the Chantak tea estate to save the kids.
The kidnapper, who threatened all the kids to follow him and picked up
one, was approached by Gunjan who asked him to leave him and take
her instead.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for Gunjan
for her bravery. Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the
government has asked Sivasagar deputy commissioner S Meenakshi
Sundaram to nominate Gunjan for the National Bravery Awards.
"The education department has announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for
Gunjan and Rs 10,000 for the driver," Sarma said.

Gunjan told police there was just one kidnapper, who is still at large. He
is an Assamese youth but spoke Hindi with the girl, a police source said.
"Our team found Gunjan at around 5.30am in the house of a tea garden
worker near the Assam-Nagaland border. She was in sound health and
we recorded her statement. Our search for the kidnapper is on," he
added.
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