Murshidabad bus accident: Meet the man who risked his life to save 6 others

KOLKATA: On the ill-fated Monday morning when a bus fell off a bridge and plunged 35 feet into a creek in Daulatabad, 12 kilometres from Murshidabad district headquarters Behrampore, Haripada Halder was one of the first responders at the scene to rescue the passengers.
Haripada was fishing in the creek when he was startled by a deafening thud that sent ripples in the water. At first he couldn't understand what was happening, but when he realised that a bus had fallen into the creek, he immediately jumped into the water to save those who were trapped.Some of the passengers who survived the fatal accident owe their life to Haripada. He saved six lives all by himself.
When an enraged mob was busy setting fire to a police vehicle, Haripada was putting his best efforts to pull out people, living or dead, out of the bus. All he had to say after the incident is, "If you were in my place, you would have done the same thing. I haven't done anything extraordinary."
Saving lives gives immense satisfaction to Haripada, who has not even crossed the threshold of primary school. What's more, he says that in the future too, he won't hesitate to risk his life to save others.
A gram panchayat member of Choyghori village, Abdul Hamid Mondal said, "Haripada did a great work. Though this was supposed to be done by the state administration, he spent 3 long hours under water just to save anybody's life, and also retrieved the bodies which were stuck inside the bus."
Read this story in Bengali