Shashank Thakur at his residence in Gamharia. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Nov. 18: He was like any other average kid till he learnt to count his courage instead of his fears.

Twelve-year-old Shashank Thakur, a Class VII student of Ramkrishna Mission English School in Bistupur, has been named for the President’s bravery award. He had risked his own life to save that of a one-year-old girl last year.

In a letter to the awardee, Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta has said that the President of India has conferred the Jeevan Raksha Padak on him and the same will be handed over by the Jharkhand government at a state-level function in Ranchi. Shashank will receive a medal, a cash prize and a certificate for “showing extreme courage”. The date of the function will be announced soon.

Talking to The Telegraph, Shashank recalled the fateful morning of February 4, 2007. “We were playing in front of my house. There was a water-filled pit, about seven feet deep, nearby. Suddenly, I noticed my neighbour’s daughter walking towards the pit. Before I could stop her, she slipped and fell into it,” he said. Without thinking twice, Shashank jumped into the pit. He managed to bring the child out with the help of his friends.

A grateful Mantu Mahto, the father of the girl, admitted that the boy’s common sense and quick action saved the life of his child. Uday Nath Thakur, Shashank’s father and an accountant with a local construction agency, said his son had become the talk of the town after last year’s incident.

Then block development officer of Gamharia Rabindra Kumar Singh recommended Shashank’s name for the medal after the mandatory inquiry. “He was our little hero. And now he will win national recognition,” said the proud father.

The coy 12-year-old admitted that he was very glad to have made his parents and the state proud. “But one brave deed does not make a hero,” he added modestly.

Uday Nath said the award from the President would certainly act as an encouragement for Shashank and other children in the neighbourhood. “The incident may be seen as the turning point in my son’s life. He now aspires to be a doctor. He wants to save the lives of people,” the accountant said.