A police officer in India is dubbed ‘hero’ after picking up a live bomb with his bare hands and ran to dispose it to protect 400 schoolchildren.
Abhishek Patel, 40, sprinted 1km with the explosive device on his shoulder, taking it a safe distance from the school playground where it was found in Madhya Pradesh state in central India.
The officer risked his life to take the 10kg bomb away from the school after learning there wasn’t a bomb squad immediately available to respond to the incident.
“Since it was a residential area and a school compound, my only aim was to carry the bomb as far away as possible from there,” the officer said, NDTV reports.
“We have learnt during our training that had it exploded, it would have damaged 500 metres of the surrounding area.”
Footage shared on social media shows Mr Patel running with the bomb, which was later detonated in a controlled explosion.
The officer received a reward of 50,000 INR (£600) for his act of bravery.
Ashok Gehlot, from the All India Congress Committee, said: “Head Constable Abhishek Patel has shown [a] great sense of duty and courage by carrying away a bomb found in a school.
“Patel and his entire unit, who rushed to save children deserve our applause.”
An investigation into how the bomb reached the school in ongoing amid reports it may be from an army range close to the school.
Salute To Police Constable Abhishek Patel, Who Ran With 10-Kg Bomb On Shoul-der To Save 400 Children In Madhya Pradesh. 💪👍👏🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/VjTXbWPTHJ
— Bairawi (@bairawi16) August 29, 2017
