Was doing my farz, says bus driver who stopped to help Pant after car accident

Susheel, who has been working at the Panipat depot for over nine years, has two sons, aged six and eight years. Paramjit has been working there for over four years, and is a father to a five-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy.

“We mostly work on the overnight route and often come across such mishaps on the highways, especially in winter when there is fog in the morning. Our first instinct is always to rescue and help the victims. I feel it is my duty to help, irrespective of who the person is in such circumstances,” said Susheel.

“I am from a poor family. Gharwale proud mehsoos kar rahe hain ki achcha kaam kiya hai (my family is proud to see this good deed),” added Paramjit.

“Haadse mein koi apna bhi ho sakta hai, madad zaroor karni chahiye, haadsa dekh ke bhagna nahi chahiye (It can be one of ours in a mishap, we should always help someone in an accident, not run away),” he said.

It was at 4.25 am on Friday that their bus, ferrying over 30 passengers, left for Panipat from Haridwar. When it reached near Gurukul Narsan in Uttarakhand around 5.15 am, Susheel saw a car approaching at high speed from a distance of 300 metres and slowed down.

“From its lights, one could see that the car had lost control. Within seconds, the car rammed into the railings and hit the divider, before jumping across and turning upside down about 50 metres from the bus. For a minute, I feared the car may hit us… mujhe laga bachna mushkil hai. I quickly turned the bus to the right to avoid contact and stopped. In the rear view mirror, I saw sparks coming from the car and then it was completely engulfed in flames,” said Susheel.

The duo and some passengers quickly rushed out to check.

“He (Pant) was half out of the car. We initially feared that he was dead. He was bleeding and had injuries on his head and back. We pulled him out and made him lie down on the pavement. We then started calling 112 (emergency response) and alerted police, hospital and highway authorities. After 2-3 minutes, he regained consciousness,” said Susheel.

When the duo enquired who he was and the extent of injuries he had suffered, Pant introduced himself as a cricketer with the Indian team.

“I did not recognise him. I don’t follow cricket. I am from Haryana… I am more into kabaddi. We asked him if he was alone and he replied that he was. He then asked us to call his mother and shared her contact number. Using a passenger’s phone, we tried calling her, but her phone was switched off,” said Susheel.

Paramjit said he too has not followed cricket for four-five years and did not know of Pant. “He asked for water. Initially, we refused since the water was quite cold and we assumed that in that injured state, it may cause him harm. But, he requested again, saying he was parched. So, we arranged for some water. His clothes had been torn and he was shivering. We borrowed a bedsheet from a passenger on the bus and gave it to him to keep him warm. His perfume, about Rs 4,000-5,000 cash and some belongings had scattered on the road. We collected them and handed it to him,” said Paramjit.

Shortly after, the police arrived and, after 15-20 minutes, an ambulance arrived for assistance, the duo said.

Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, actors Anupam Kher and Anil Kapoor reached the Max Hospital in Dehradun to check on Pant and met his mother.

“We were here and came to know that Rishabh is in the hospital. As a common person, it was our responsibility to visit him. We met his mother too. He is much better and his spirits are very high. Prayers of the entire country are with him and he will recover very soon,” said Kher.

Kapoor said that Pant was energetic. “He should be fine. We talked to his mother and we tried to make him laugh too. We are his fans,” he said.

A team of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) also visited the hospital to provide moral support to Pant. The DDCA officials said they talked to the doctors and if needed, they will consider shifting Pant to Delhi, Mumbai or even abroad for treatment.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar has announced that the bus driver, conductor and other local residents who came forward to help Pant will be awarded under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ ‘good samaritan’ scheme.