It has been five days since auto-rickshaw driver Pawan Shah was swept away by a strong current while saving the lives of a mother-son duo, but his brother Pankaj has not given up hope and feels Pawan will come back.
Although the police are yet to recover his body despite asserting that rescue operations were in full swing, Pankaj has himself taken up the task and has been trying to trace his brother ever since the incident took place.
He claimed he saw the hand of a body floating in the canal and informed Jaitpur police station.
Last Saturday, 30-year-old Pawan was heading home after dropping off a passenger when he saw a woman with a baby in her arms standing on the edge of a bridge on the Meethapur canal. Next he saw the woman jumping off the bridge, police said Wednesday.
Without a second thought, Pawan left his auto and jumped into the water to save the woman and the baby. He also shouted and asked for help. The mother-son duo was rescued with the help of passers-by, but Pawan was swept away.
"I still have hope that my brother is alive. How can we accept he is no more when we have not got the body? While the police are searching for my brother, I also travelled till Palwal in Haryana to trace him on Wednesday," Pankaj, who is also an auto-rickshaw driver, told PTI.
He said he gave his contact details to those living near the banks of a lake there and requested them to inform him if they noticed any body floating in the canal.
"I could see the hand of a body floating on the surface of the lake. I have informed the Jaitpur police station. They have assured me of assistance," Pankaj said.
Meanwhile, the police said the rescue operations were in full swing.
"With the help of disaster management teams, divers and boats, we have been trying to find Pawan's body. We have assured Pankaj of all the help and are looking into the details furnished by him," said a senior police officer.
Talking about his brother, an emotional Pankaj said Pawan had a helping nature.
"He would never say no to those who approached him. I am proud that he saved two lives, but in the process, I lost my brother," he said.
Pawan used to live with his mother and two brothers -Pankaj and Ranjan, who is currently studying.
"Pawan would earn Rs 300 to Rs 400 every day. He was plying auto-rickshaw since three to four years. He had earlier also helped passengers, but this time, he saved someone's life," Pankaj said.
After Pawan jumped into the canal, three men who were passing by saw him and the woman, and formed a human chain. They saved the mother-son duo from drowning, but a strong current took Pawan away, Chinmoy Biswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) said.
The three men -- Rajveer, Jamil and Sanjeev -- informed Jaitpur police station about the incident. The police rushed to the spot and started a search for Pawan. However, even after four days, the search is underway as his body could not be found, the senior officer said.
The rescued woman and her son were taken to a hospital and their condition is now said to be stable.
During an enquiry, the police found that the woman tried to commit suicide along with her baby after a fight with her husband.
The police said Pawan's name will be recommended for the Jiwan Raksha Padak.
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