JAIPUR: A 31-year-old police constable, Netresh Sharma, who put his life on the line and ran inside a burning house to save three women and a child amid rioting and arson in Rajasthan’s Karauli last weekend received a call from CM Ashok Gehlot on Monday, lauding his bravery and congratulating him on an out-of-turn promotion to the rank of head constable. A picture of the epic rescue, taken by one among many who saw the scene unfold, has since gone viral.
I heard voices of women screaming for help: Cop Netresh Sharma, his arms wrapped around a three-year-old boy covered in a blanket and his legs a blur against the backdrop of a building engulfed in flames, might have been mistaken for a Bollywood action hero enacting a scene had it not been for the reality of death stalking them in the middle of a raging riot.
“I heard voices of women screaming for help from inside a burning house sandwiched between two shops in a marketplace. Without thinking for a second, I barged in,” said Netresh. “First, I took the three-year-old child in my arms and covered him with a blanket. I asked the three women who were with the kid to follow me. They were scared and did not have the confidence to move out. I promised I would get them out safely.”
A native of Bada Gaon in Nadauti tehsil of Karauli, Netresh had been out all day trying to contain the violence as part of a team from the town outpost attached to Kotwali police station.
As Karauli limped back to a semblance of normalcy two days later, the young cop took time out to bask in his newfound fame and relive the moment the chief minister greeted him over the phone. “I was elated, of course, when CM saab spoke to me. He congratulated me and said I would get a promotion. I told him that I was only doing my duty. I don’t know the people whose lives I saved. I am not even aware where they have gone.”
