Aurangabad teenager Akash Khillare will be honoured with the bravery award during Republic Day 2020 celebrations for saving a mother and her toddler from drowning. PM Modi will present the award to class 10-student Khillare for his strong will that saved the lives of two people. Khillare was dissuaded from learning swimming by his grandfather but he picked up the skill on the sly, a skill which saved two precious lives.
On January 22, 2018, Akash, then a Class X student, was passing by Dudhna river on his way to school in Navgavhan when he saw Renuka Mhaske and her three-year-old daughter Shraddha drowning in almost thirty feet of water.
"I just jumped into the river right away with my schoolbag still on my back and managed to pull them out of distress. I was told later that the child had fallen into the river and the mother had jumped in to save her but got caught in the currents," he told PTI on Tuesday.
"My 75-year-old grandfather Pandharinath Khillare, for some reason, would stop me from learning swimming but I went ahead and took to the water without his knowledge. Now my swimming has got me an award for valor. That moment when I saved two lives is the happiest in my life," an elated Akash said.
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