Human face of Calcutta - AWARDS FOR BRAVERY AND HONESTY

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee felicitates the La Martiniere for Boys duo for saving the life of a man at an awards function at National Library on Thursday. (Below): Akshay Doshi and Dhiman Parekh. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Two students of Class XI, Dhiman Parekh and Akshay Doshi, heard the horn of a Santro that wouldn’t stop blaring near Minto Park on September 22, 2006.

The two students of La Martiniere for Boys ran to the car, to find a man slumped over the steering wheel. They opened the door and checked his pulse — the man was unconscious. The teenagers rushed the man to Belle Vue clinic, where doctors said that had the man not been brought to the healthcare unit, saving his life would have been difficult.

Both Parekh and Doshi shook hands with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and received a pat on their shoulder.

In an annual programme organised by the city police to felicitate men of the force and others for their bravery and honesty, Bhattacharjee awarded seven Calcuttans on Thursday evening in a packed auditorium of National Library. He also handed over medals and certificates to 47 policemen who had shown excellence during their service.

Mentioning the name of Gita Gupta, a poor woman who had found a gold chain on the pavement of Nimtala Ghat Street and deposited it with Jorabagan police station, Bhattacharjee said: “Her act shows that everyone is not running after money.”

The chief minister was impressed when he heard the tale of Sailesh Jadav, a taxi driver who found a bag containing Rs 35,000 lying on the rear seat of his vehicle and immediately handed over the money to police. “It reflects the human face of Calcutta,” he said.

Mazhar Imam was awarded for his bravery. A 14-year-old girl, Shilu Gupta, tried to commit suicide by jumping into the Hooghly from Bassel Bridge on October 9, 2007.

Imam was on his two-wheeler. He, too, jumped into the river and rescued the girl, who had sunk 80 ft.

Dwijen Chatterjee, the officer-in-charge of Bowbazar police station, was among the 47 policemen who received silver medals and certificates from Bhattacharjee for “excellent performance” during their tenure.

While addressing the policemen, the chief minister said: “You will have to develop contacts with the people who reside in your localities. You will have to know the notable personalities of your area by their faces.”

He also advised them not to discriminate against poor complainants at a police station.