Amid all the killings and violence taking place in the world, this incident really restores our faith in humanity and makes us believe that there is some good left in people after all. A police constable in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district has garnered much attention for saving hundreds of lives when he carried a bomb, found in the backyard of a school, and ran for about a kilometre with it so that he could dispose it of in an isolated area.
The bomb was found in Chitora village, about 170 kilometers away from Bhopal. The bomb is said to have come from the nearby firing range and weighed about 10 kgs. After spotting the bomb, Abhishek Patel carried it on his shoulders and ran all the way to dispose it of. Once he was sure that the bomb was away from the village, he called his seniors and the bomb disposal squad.
Speaking about the incident and Patel's effort, Satyendra Shukla, SP Sagar district, told DNA: "Head Constable Abhishek Patel was on Police Control Van duty when he got a call about a bomb in the backyard of a school in Chitora. He immediately rushed to the spot. He picked up the bomb and ran with it as fast as he could. He disposed it at a place far away from the village."
While everyone has been lauding Patel for his courage and presence of mind, his seniors believe that he should have followed the drill of informing the bomb disposal squad and letting them handle the situation instead of taking matters in his own hand. Their only concern seems to be Patel's safety as carrying the bomb for about a kilometre had put his life at risk.
"He should have first informed the bomb disposal squad and followed the proper drill. There was a lot of risk involved in taking the bomb away with bare hands," Shukla explained.
Meanwhile, Patel said that he did not immediately call the bomb disposal squad as he only thought of the destruction the bomb would cause if it had exploded in the backyard of the school.
The bomb, which officials believe was placed in the backyard by some villager looking for an exploded bomb, was later defused on Sunday. Villagers of the area reportedly regularly look for exploded bombs, from which they extract the metal and sell it as scrap.
