Allah gave me strength, says driver Salim who saved 50 Amarnath pilgrims from terrorists

coastaldigest.com web desk
July 11, 2017

The terror attack on the bus of Amarnath yatris in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday evening would have claimed more innocent lives had it not been for the exemplary courage shown by Salim Sheikh, the driver of the bus, who drove the pilgrims to safety amid indiscriminate firing of bullets by militants.

It was about 8.20 pm. A white-coloured bus (GJ09Z9979) with 56 Amarnath pilgrims on board was travelling from Srinagar to Jammu. The bus was not officially registered with the Amarnath Shrine Board for the pilgrimage and was without police escort.

As soon as the bus reached near Khanabal, 3-5 terrorists opened fire. It was pitch-dark outside and raining bullets. However, driver Salim Sheikh kept his cool. Realising that halting the bus will have dangerous consequences, Salim drove for nearly two kilometres on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway before he reached an army camp. The attack left seven dead and over 30 injured.

‘Allah gave me strength’

“The terrorist first fired from the front with the intention to eliminate the driver. I ducked sideways to escape the bullets and drove ahead. I do not know how I got the strength to go on at that time. Maybe Allah helped me and gave me strength,” Salim told media persons as he stepped out of an IAF plane that brought the deceased as well as those injured in the attack to Surat, Gujarat, Tuesday afternoon.

Salim, who also belongs to Gujarat, said he escaped unharmed in the incident while another passenger seated beside him was injured.

Bravery Award

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today praised bus driver Salim Sheikh for showing immense courage and saving lives of nearly 50 Amarnath pilgrims.

"Want to thank bus driver for saving lives of people. Will nominate his name for bravery award," Rupani told reporters at Surat airport where he received those injured in the terror attack.

“I spoke to the passengers and they were all praise for the driver. He drove despite the firing and took them to safety. It made a lot of difference and many lives were saved. He did not stop. Had he stopped, more lives could have been lost,” said Munir Khan, IG, Kashmir.

Family is proud

Salim’s family in Gujarat is also proud him. His cousin, Javed, said that Salim called him around 9.30 PM informing the family about the firing on the bus. “He couldn’t save seven lives but managed to move 50 people to a safe place. We are proud of him,” Javed added.

Comments

Holy cow
 - 
Thursday, 13 Jul 2017

What else does bjp want other than boycotting peace. It never wants peace between Hindus and Muslims. and also Hindus following their agenda of hindu rashtra which will never happen. Looks like they want more violence to finally get Muslims out of their country. Remember Muslim ruled for 800 years and if they wanted to make India a Muslim rashtra, they could have done it easily. Gandus open your mind

Sahil
 - 
Thursday, 13 Jul 2017

Not clear that RSS did the bombing. But clearly written that CMI bombed RSS and BJP offices and killed 1 bjp person. So terrorist are CPI workers. All cpi workers should be killed.

Mani
 - 
Thursday, 13 Jul 2017

Dont you have shame Nirmala . its only a state ...all over INDIA your ideological fanatics killing innocents in the name of COW Matha .....stop that first ....

Its all because of RSS dirty ideology ...where chanting kill kill kill and kill is nationalism .......

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News Network
March 22,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 22: A 22-year-old man from Bhatkal who had returned from Dubai on March 19 has tested positive for coronavirus.

Sindhu B Rupesh, Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada confrimed this today.

The youth, after landing at Mangaluru International Airport had got admitted to Govt Wenlock Hospital.

The total number of coronavirus positive patients in India rose to 342 on Sunday, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

A total of 16,999 samples from 16,109 individuals have been tested for COVID-19 as of 10:00 am on March 22, as per ICMR data.

India reported two deaths today from the highly contagious virus - one each in Maharashtra and Bihar - taking the tally to six, as per state authorities.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, Apr 4: The Supreme Court on Friday urged Karnataka and Kerala to amicably resolve their issues concerning a border blockade that has choked the free flow of vehicles carrying essential items and patients in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Karnataka, which imposed the blockade, justified that its border was sealed to “combat the spread of the pandemic by preventing the movement of people from the bordering districts of Kerala to Karnataka”.

The State had moved the Supreme Court, challenging a Kerala High Court order on April 1 to open the border. Kerala has countered that patients from the State cannot be denied access to health care. Besides, the blockade has severely affected the supply of essential items, from medicines to food, to Kerala.

On Friday, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta urged the States to not confront each other in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis. Instead, it asked the Chief Secretaries of both States to sit with the Union Health Secretary and iron out a solution. Meanwhile, the apex court urged Kerala not to take any precipitative action based on the High Court order.

The court issued notice to Kerala on the appeal filed by Karnataka, represented by advocate Shubhranshu Padhi. It listed the case for further hearing on April 7.

Karnataka, in its appeal against the High Court order, said the blockade was put in place in the interest of public health. The situation regarding Coronavirus was “really dire”, it said. It warned that opening the blockade would cause a law and order issue as its local population wanted the border to remain sealed.

Karnataka argued that Kerala was the “worst-affected” State in the country with nearly 194 coronavirus cases. In this, Kasaragod, adjoining Karnataka, was the “worst affected” district of Kerala with over a 100 positive cases.

MP’s plea

The court also separately considered a writ petition by Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan for an order to forthwith open the State border.

The parliamentarian, represented by advocates Haris Beeran and Pallavi Pratap, urged the court to issue an ex-parte stay on the operation of the blockade imposed by Karnataka with its border States.

Mr. Unnithan said Karnataka’s blockade was “ill-planned and dangerous” and had led to loss of lives. Two patients from Kerala, in need of urgent medical care, died after their ambulances were denied entry at the border by the Karnataka authorities. 

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News Network
April 20,2020

Udupi, Apr 20: Patients from outside the district visiting Udupi for emergency treatment should be in possession of a certificate, issued by the district health officer or taluk health officer, that they do not have any symptoms of Covid-19.

The decision was taken during an expert committee meeting chaired by Udupi Deputy Commissioner Jagadeesha on Sunday.

The Deputy Commissioner said he will send a letter to all Deputy Commissioners in this regard. The patients from other districts will be treated in various hospitals in Udupi, only in case of emergency.

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