‘Heroism is not a one-time act’: Railways pointsman Shelke donates half of reward money to child he saved

Shelke’s act of bravery earned him praise from Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and he was felicitated for exceptionally courageous act. Central Railway’s Divisional Railway Manager and staff rewarded him with Rs 50,000. Now, he announced that he will donate half of the money to the boy.

Hon’ble Minister Shri @PiyushGoyal announced an award of Rs 50000/- to Shri Mayur Shelke, Pointsman, Vangani Station for the act of bravery, courage & presence of mind on duty.
He saved a life of a child who accidentally fell on the track.

Congratulations to Shri M. Shelke pic.twitter.com/KOD78oZH9R

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 20, 2021

“I’ll give half of the amount, given to me as token of appreciation, for that child’s welfare & education. I came to know that his family isn’t financially strong. So I decided this,” Shelke told news agency ANI on Thursday. The CCTV footage showed a visually-impaired woman carrying a heavy rucksack walking on the platform when her son accompanying her suddenly stumbled and fall onto the railway tracks below.

I’ll give half of the amount, given to me as token of appreciation, for that child’s welfare & education. I came to know that his family isn’t financially strong. So I decided this: Mayur Shelkhe, pointsman who saved a child who fell on tracks at Vangani railway station on 17.04 pic.twitter.com/IWdacY0DFf

— ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2021

“These are difficult times of Covid-19 pandemic and all those who wish to donate money, hand over cheques to me can offer the money to the mother and the child or any other needy in these times,” he had said earlier in an appeal on social media.

आमचा एक रेल्वे कर्मचारी मयूर शेळके, ज्याने आपला जीव धोक्यात घालून, आपली जबाबदारी मानून, एका लहान मुलाचे प्राण वाचवले.

त्याचे हे कार्य, आणि त्याचे विचार आपल्यासाठी आणि समाजासाठी प्रेरणा दायक आहेत. संपूर्ण रेल्वे कुटुंबाला त्याचा अभिमान आहे. pic.twitter.com/qEJkF7sDZH

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 20, 2021

As the news spread about his donation, his name once again started to trend on social media platforms, with many saluting him for his thoughtful gesture.

Bravo! First the act of endangering his own life to save the child and now this, Mayur Shelke brings tears to my eyes.
Humanity is still alive.

— Salman Rashid (@odysseuslahori) April 22, 2021

The only positive news of the day. Humanity and gods work through humans – exhibit A. Mayur, may all the worlds blessings be yours to be happy and prosperous always

— Monica Jasuja (@jasuja) April 22, 2021

Ok, all this is so positively emotional 😭

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It feels so great to have people like Mayur Shelke in our society. They restore the faith in humanity 🧡

— Agnostic_Exploring (@aimingforlight) April 22, 2021

Ek hi dil h, kitne baar jitoge sir? 🙂

— Unbiased Defenestrator (@Dontpushyourluk) April 22, 2021

The entire country’s blessings and God will always be with you #MayurShelke You are a hero and no award can match your bravery and kindness which you have demonstrated in real life.
🙏👏👏👏

— Tarun Das (@BlrTarun) April 22, 2021

#Mayurshelke first saves a kid on the railway tracks and then donates half of his reward money for his education.
🙏🏾🙏🏾

And here I am behaving like a Philanthropist after giving 10 Rs. to the kids at the Signal.
God has his own ways of teaching you humility.

— Rocky (@_CryOfTheWolf) April 22, 2021

pic.twitter.com/u7bcWhJgHK

— pav-bhaji (@pavbhajiandchil) April 22, 2021

Mayur Shelke not only saves the boy’s life but also donates reward amount for his education! There’s still hope for humanity.

I don’t have enough words to praise & applaud this real life hero. May Shivay bless this kind & generous soul.#TweetOfTheDay 👇🏻 https://t.co/eNlNt4UyTH

— रौशनी 🇮🇳 (@roshwrites) April 22, 2021

This guy is something else … Donates 50% of his award money for education of the little kid whose life he saved when he himself is not that well off !! We need more selfless people like him🙏🏻 #MayurShelke https://t.co/m7x5QpiueG

— anvaya (@anvaya) April 22, 2021

Heroism is not a one time act. It is Mayur Shelke’s chatacter. Shelke donates half of his reward to the child he rescued and appeals other donors to divert their contribution to the child or other needy.#BeingShelke pic.twitter.com/tlzCdnMXuh

— Shakti (@swansong202) April 22, 2021

We need more people like him. The real hero in every sense of the word! Let’s make him famous. #BoycottBollywood https://t.co/VDJeahIFXB

— Sushant k fans k saath vishwasghaat hua hai (@Deepa_Sinha06) April 22, 2021

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Speaking to The Indian Express, Shelke, who has worked with the railways for five years, said initially he didn’t even inform his family about his daring act. “I did not inform them for two days. But today the video went viral and they called me up. At first my mother scolded me, but later she said she is proud of what I did. My wife got scared too, but she is happy now.” He lives in Neral with his parents, wife and 10-day-old son.