GUWAHATI: Caroline Malsawmtluangi is not just strong-willed but soft-hearted too.
The 11-year-old girl from Mizoram, a recipient of this year’s National Bravery Awards, shared 50% (Rs 10,000) of her award money with the child she rescued from an abductor.
She also gifted the seven-year-old child a silver necklace and clothes that she had brought from Delhi.
The Class IV girl, who lives in Aizawl, received a rousing welcome when she paid a visit to the child’s house at Thualthu village in the state’s Lunglei district last week.
Caroline’s mother Lalsangzeli said the girl developed an attachment to the child when she was told about her humble background.
“She wanted to help the child and her family with some money after learning about her poor living conditions. So, after she had won the award, we visited the child’s house where she offered the money to the family,” Lalsangzeli said.
Kudos poured in for Caroline on social media last year when users learnt how the girl rescued the child by showing exemplary courage. The child was kidnapped for trafficking by a woman, Zonunsangin Fanai, who has since been arrested.
In June last year, Caroline was playing with her friends in the backyard of her house when the unknown child had joined them. She did not pay much attention to her but a group of policemen visited the area the next day in search of a girl who had gone missing from a village in Lunglei district.
The cops showed the children a photograph of the missing girl and advised them to inform police if they came across her. This led Caroline to carry out a search for the child independently. Soon, she spotted her at a house in the neighbourhood. On seeing Caroline, the abductor made an attempt to drive her away but she kept waiting.
Finally, when she sensed an opportunity, she lifted the child on her back and started running. Efforts made by the abductor to stop her by pelting stones did not yield any results as the girl kept running until she reached home. There, she disclosed everything to her parents.