GURDASPUR HERO: BUS DRIVER WHO SAVED MANY LIVES

Jalandhar : 22 Aug 2015: Nanak Chand, a driver with Punjab Roadways, was targeted by terrorists in a pre-dawn attack in Dinanagar town on 27 July 2015. This Jagruk Hindustani showed tremendous presence of mind in saving precious lives. He remained calm and composed as the terrorists, armed with sophisticated weapons,
fired at the moving vehicle. The driver did not panic and drove away the bus to the Civil Hospital as a few passengers had sustained bullet injuries. He later rang up the police to inform about the incident.Narrating the sequence of events that unfolded on the day in Dinanagar town, Chand said, “The day was like any other day. I was on duty early morning. The bus was on its way from Janian, a village falling along the Punjab-J&K border. We started at 3:40 am and our final destination was ISBT, Sector 43 in Chandigarh. From Janian, we crossed 60 to 70 border villages to reach Dinanagar, which is 60 kms. At about 5:30 am, we reached Dinanagar bus stand and I stopped the vehicle briefly. The bus was carrying about 76 passengers including school children, daily passengers and some policemen who were travelling to different destinations for their duty.
Some more passengers boarded from the Dinanagar bus stand for our onward journey to Gurdaspur, Mukerian, Dasuya, Hoshiarpur and Chandigarh. The bus left Dinanagar Bus Stand and at 5:34 am, it reached close to Dinanagar Police Station. “From a distance, I saw a white colour Maruti car and one masked person facing the car. As the bus reached closer to him, he tried to stop it by waving his hand. Immediately, I suspected that something was not right. My conductor, Birender Kumar also alerted me. He also shouted don’t stop the bus. As I tried to accelerate, the masked person fired volley of bullets at the bus. I accelerated and covered the next 15 km to Gurdaspur in less than 15 minutes” – he said. “As two of the passengers had sustained bullet injuries, I drove them straight to Civil Hospital at Gurdaspur where we got them admitted to the Emergency Ward,” Chand said. Asked if he felt scared after bullets were fired at the bus, he said, “All I knew that I had to immediately drive away from the spot. Had I thought twice, who knows a bullet might have hit me and then the terrorist could have killed everybody else onboard.” Seven persons – four civilians and three policemen, including a SP rank officer – were killed by heavily-armed militants who stormed the police station in Dinanagar. Later on, the militants were eliminated by the Punjab Police. Nanak Chand was appointed driver on a contract basis in 2010 and joined the State Roadways in 2011. He had met Hon’ble Chief Minister Sardar Prakash Singh Badal last week with a request to regularise his job and that of Birender Kumar. “I work on contract basis with Punjab Roadways. I get anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 each month. I have to support a large family that includes my wife, my school going children — a daughter (17), two sons (20) and (13) — and my mother.” he said. The Punjab Govt has decided to regularise his services as State Roadways bus driver for saving 76 lives during the terror attack and his name recommended for National Bravery Award.