Volunteer Saves Teen After Attack Kills Her Family in India

A 17-year-old girl is alive today because one man refused to let fear stop him from doing the right thing.

Mamta Bhuiyan lay bleeding from a deep neck wound beside the bodies of her father, mother, and brother in Kusri hamlet, India, after a brutal axe attack on Sunday. Villagers hesitated to help, afraid of police questioning and harassment that often follows when people assist crime victims.

But Chandradeo Prajapati, a para-legal volunteer from a village 5 kilometers away, got a phone call about the attack and immediately changed course. He had been taking his daughter to a temple for her birthday but instead took her home and raced to the crime scene at full speed.

When Prajapati arrived, he found Mamta still clinging to life. He wrapped his towel around her bleeding neck and lifted her onto his motorcycle with her sister-in-law, Nilam.

The trio stopped at a checkpoint where a village doctor provided proper bandaging. Prajapati then arranged a private car to rush Mamta to the community health center at Panki, where doctors stabilized her condition.

The attack stemmed from a false accusation. Two men blamed Mamta's father for their elderly father's death through black magic, though the man had died naturally after a long illness. The attackers left Mamta for dead, unaware she would survive.

Sunny's Take

Rakesh Ranjan, secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, visited Mamta at the hospital and called Prajapati "a godsend for the wounded girl." He emphasized that even a minute's hesitation would have meant another death.

The district legal services authority is covering Mamta's medical costs through the Victim Compensation Scheme. Officials are also arranging financial assistance and rehabilitation support as she recovers from losing her entire immediate family.

Prajapati's employer praised him as "the face of humanitarian aid at a time of severe distress." He was the first person to reach the crime scene, arriving even before police.

Mamta is now recovering at MMCH hospital in Daltonganj and responding well to treatment. Thanks to one volunteer who chose courage over caution, she has a future ahead of her.