MUMBAI: He gave his life rescuing a minor girl of another faith from a drain, but now his own family is in dire straits, awaiting urgent monetary help. Over a month after Shahzad Shaikh, 28, a daily wage worker, rescued Sonali Banjara, 8, who fell in a drain at Ramabai Colony area in Ghatkopar East while trying to retrieve a ball, Shaikh’s family said no financial help has reached them from anywhere.At around 3 pm on May 18, Shaikh took a break for lunch from his mason’s work and was home when he heard cries of people in the neighbourhood. He went out and found that the minor girl who had fallen in the drain was crying for help. He jumped into the drain, lifted the girl up, and handed her over to another man, but he himself got stuck in the slush. Sonali survived. However, Shaikh struggled to come out but could not. He was found over two hours later, and the fire brigade and Pantnagar police took him to a local hospital where he was declared dead.Originally from Bahraich (UP), Shaikh, along with his wife Rukhsar and four children (three sons, one daughter), lived in a rented house at the Ramabai Colony. Sonali, with her mother Asha, also a daily wager, lives in the same neighbourhood. After Shaikh’s death while rescuing the minor Hindu girl, Rukhsar, along with her four children, moved to her elder sister’s place in Govandi.“My husband was the only bread earner in our family. Now I am living with my children at my sister’s house, and my rented room at Ramabai Colony is locked. But the stay with my sister is temporary. No help has come from anywhere so far,” said Rukhsar.Her brother-in-law Hasnain Khan, a salesman at an electronic shop, said: “Shahzad did not think about the dangers of jumping into the deep drain as he wanted to save the minor girl. Today his own family is in huge trouble. The govt must do something for his family,” said Hasnain.Moved by Shaikh’s courage, kind-hearted attitude, and the hardship his family is facing, social worker Saeed Khan has written to CM Devendra Fadnavis, requesting him to sanction a grant for Shahzad’s family. “Shahzad did not think a bit that it was a Hindu girl and gave his own life to rescue the minor girl. He set a great example of humanity and his family deserves help,” said Khan. “This is a shining example of humanity winning over narrow communal and casteist prejudice. We must not fail the brave man in his death.” Khan added that the NGO Association for Muslim Professionals (AMP) has begun crowdfunding for Shaikh’s family.
