BISHNU SHRESTHA
BISHNU SHRESTHA


NOTE: This story is based on real-life incidents that happened in India. I had set the story's narrative voice active instead of using passive voice. Since I want the readers to see how the main characters are actively working and reacting in their environment in what feels like real time, packing more punch into the syntax and keeping the narrative lively.
DISCLAIMER: This story has more action sequences with very less dialogues. Due to some sequences of violence and sexual harassment, I kindly recommend a strong parental guidance for the kids, if they are willing to read this story.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
11:00 PM
Maurya express train from Hatia to Gorakhpur started to move slowly from Kulti station. Most of the passengers were already sleeping in their berth. Some of them had dinner and got ready to sleep, like this with usual calmness. The night travel continued, now slowly the train fastened.
The train travelled through a dense forest and while the train was going, suddenly it stopped in a place. Some of them who were awake, looked out to see why the train was stopped in the forest area and even the signal was not there.
The train didn't stop due to the signal. Someone inside the train stopped it. And if you ask whether there is any emergency or robbers came in, a thief himself stopped the train from inside, and the next second when the train stopped there, in each compartment of the train a lot of masked people got inside.
Those who came in, without wasting a second, with a knife like weapons, they threatened the passengers and started to rob. It didn't happen in a single compartment. After each compartment they went to another continuously.
The thieves woke up the people who were sleeping by beating them and stole their money, jewels, mobile phones and laptop. When they were stealing, they pulled a bed sheet from a person who was sleeping in the upper berth.
The person who suddenly woke up from his sleep, seeing the people screaming and being confused on the train which was going peacefully, he understood what was happening.
Now the robber who woke him up threatened him to give the money and jewels. For that the person said something to the robber. Hearing that the robbers got back from him. Leaving him behind, they threatened the others to give their money and jewels.
While they were doing that, there was a small family in the compartment. A father, mother and an 18 year old girl were there. Now the robbers who targeted the small family, kept a knife in the girl's neck and stole their money and jewels. But after that, their minds started to think worse.
Now those robbers started to misbehave with the 18 year old girl. They kept a knife on her mother's neck, and in front of her parents they tried to rape her.
"Someone please help my daughter. Save her from these wicked animals!" Her parents started to plead with everyone to save their daughter. Their sounds were heard by the person, who was disturbed by the robbers at the beginning.
The person who was silent seeing the people being robbed, now seeing them misbehaving with a small girl, he couldn't be like that. Now he took a khukuri knife and got down from the upper berth.
(Till now what I have narrated, might look like a scene in a fiction movie to you. Can I say a fact? Usually based on the true incident they will take scenes in the movie. Those who read my stories for a long time will know that truth is always stranger than fiction. So what happened after that and what did he say to those robbers? How did he have the khukuri knife which is only possessed by gurkhas. So if he a Gurkha? We are going to see the answers to all these questions now.)
FEW YEARS BACK
Bishnu Shrestha was born in 1975 in Nepal. After his schooling he got a Gurkha job in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. He shifted to Gorakhpur along with his family and that's how he got a khukuri knife. While he was working there, he wished to join the army and started to take army training. Like he wished, he was selected in the Indian army team.
Usually for Gurkha who belongs to Nepal has a special quota in joining Indian military. According to that Bishnu was selected in the 7th battalion of the 8th Gorkha infantry. After that he worked in Ranchi and along with his military team, he went to war a lot of times to fight against the enemy countries. Bishnu who served for the country, at the age of 35 years got voluntary retirement.
(When the robbers pulled the bed sheet of a person who was sleeping in the upper berth, the person said something to the robbers. And I said that, after that they stopped messing with him and left the place. Like you guessed he said he was a military man. If he is a military man he could have done something and stopped them and if you think why he waited until they touched that 18 year old girl means, wait a minute, there is a reason for that.)
Bishnu who doesn't have any blackmark in his service, when he was retired he was in Naik rain in Indian army. Now after a lot of years he was going to see his family and he happily got ready to go home from the military base. He got a ticket to his native Gorakhpur and waited for the train in Ranchi station.
Now the time is around 5.20 p.m. in the evening. Maurya express train from Hatia to Gorakhpur, stopped at the Ranchi station. Along with the other passengers, Bishnu also got inside. The train which boarded a lot of people in each station, went quickly in it's track.
Bishnu who sat near the window seat, was thinking that in 24 hours this train will reach Gorakhpur and as soon as he get down he is going to see his family. Like this with lots of dreams he travelled. In e
ach station when the passengers boarded the train seats were filled and as the time flies the darkness of the night started to spread.
Bishnu who had his dinner in the train light, went to his upper berth and started to sleep. Now the time is around 11:10 p.m. and the train stopped at Kulti station for 2 minutes.
Now along with the passengers 4 to 5 robbers also boarded the train. When the train started to move fast from the Kulti station, in a few minutes, the train was stopped by the robbers. The train was stopped in between a dense forest between Kulti and Chittaranjan.
Like they already planned, when the train stopped there, the other robbers who were waiting there, put on a mask and came inside.
PRESENT
The robbers who beat and robbed innocent people, not only woke a military soldier from the sleep. But, they woke a real hero who is going to end their atrocities. Bishnu who woke up from sleep, while sitting in his seat, he noticed their activities and there was a total of 40 of them. He noticed sharp weapons in most of their hands and most importantly he saw a gun in one of their hands.
(I think you might have got the answer to the question why he didn't fight as soon as he got up.)
Bishnu was keenly noticing the strength of the enemies. When he was thinking he heard a voice of a person screaming to help their daughter. When he saw those robbers misbehaving with an 18 year old girl, thought he shouldn't wait any longer and took the khukuri knife in his hand. He got ready to fight with the robbers.
When Bishnu took the khukuri and got down from his berth, in a blink of an eye he stabbed in the neck of the persons, who held the knife on the girl's neck and her mother's neck with khukuri without knowing what was going on. All the three robbers died in that place.
Now knowing that a person stabbed the people who came with them, all 37 robbers came to attack Bishnu at the same time. Bishnu who took a lot of training to attack the enemies in the warfield, he doesn't think that tackling these 37 is a big issue.
In lightning speed he stabbed the people who attacked him with khukuri. With the khukuri knife, using the moves only he knows, first he stabbed 7 to 8 people and made them unstable.
Now the other passengers who saw Bishnu, started to fight back the robbers. At the same time Bishnu dropped the khukuri knife. A robber who took the knife, stabbed him with that. At the same time a robber who had a gun in his hand shot Bishnu. But Bishnu was alert and escaped from it.
Now, the train's speed decreased.
When all this were happening the train was nearing the next station. The robbers realized that in a few minutes the train will reach Chittaranjan station. They thought that if they stay, they will get caught and had a thought to escape immediately. The robbers got down from the slowly moving train and ran away.
When the train reached Chittaranjan station, the people said all the things that happened to the railway police. In the fight against the robbers, Bishnu got wounded all over his body. As a first thing they did a first aid for him and sent him to the hospital in the ambulance.
After he was fully recovered by the treatment in the hospital, this news started to spread out slowly. A lot of people appreciated his heroic act. To Bishnu who saved the lives of innocent people, Indian government gave him the Jeevan Raksha award to honour him. By appreciating his heroic act they gave him sena medal and honoured him.
Bishnu's battalion unit thought of giving him a promotion to honour him. Since they can't give promotion to Bishnu who got voluntary retirement, they cancelled the retirement temporarily and in a few days, from Naik rank he was promoted to Knight subedar rank. After that to Bishnu who got voluntary retirement again, they gave 50,000 cash and silver plated khukuri and accepted his retirement.
In the train travel, since he saved the life and honour of a girl, Indian government gave Bishnu, some discounts in train and flight travels.
Beyond all this the father of the girl who Bishnu saved, gave him a big amount as gift. But he denied it and said: "Sir. It's my duty to fight the enemies in war as a soldier. Similarly, in this train saving this girl's life is my duty as a human being. That's what I did. So I don't want this money." Hearing this the family broke into tears and thanked him wholeheartedly.
TWO MONTHS LATER
DECEMBER 2010
Two months after this incident, police found all the robbers who involved in this robbery. Along with the things they robbed they confiscated 7 knives, one gun and bullets. They were charged with robbery, attempted murder, attempted rape and was punished.
EPILOGUE
It was my dead best friend Manjith's wish to write a story based on Bishnu Shrestha. I collected all the information from various sources and wrote this story in my own style.
If you are reading this story, a goosebumps is waiting for you. I recently read a comment. A video of Indian flag waving in the wind. Below the video a person made a comment and it was a very good comment. When I read it, I had goosebumps. I will put that comment here. See it:
"Indian flag is not waving due to winds. But due to the breath of each soldier standing and protecting at the border. It was a very good comment right? Like this comment down about India or the stories you need. And comment your opinions about this story in the comment section without fail.
But, I will take time to write my other upcoming stories. Since I need time to come out of the tragic events, that happened in my life. As it was my friend's dream to write a story on Bishnu, I fulfilled it.