She said, after she was abducted, they crossed a river in the forest and stopped once. Gunjan was unable to see anything due to darkness.

Next morning, when she woke up, she did not find her kidnapper around. Treating this as an opportunity, she ran and reached a village and with help from some villagers, informed the police.

The school van of Nazira Kendriya Vidyalaya with11 kids was hijacked by a gunman in Simaluguri town on Wednesday.

The driver showed some smartness and brought the vehicle to an halt after driving into a drain in Chantak tea estate.

The gunman asked all the kids to follow him and picked one small girl. It was there when Gunjan asked the abductor to leave the girl and take her instead.

A reward of Rs. 2 lakh for Gunjan has been announced by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for her act of bravery. A proposal has been made to nominate Gunjan for National Bravery Award.

According to Gunjan, the kidnapper belongs to Assam but conversed in Hindi with her.

The search for the kidnapper, who is still at large, is on.