The Hindu : Front Page : A youth with a heart of gold

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Thursday, Jan 12, 2006

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A youth with a heart of gold

Marri Ramu

IN SAFE HANDS: Afroz (right) with Muzammil. — Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

HYDERABAD: Lean, thin moustache and medium height -- going by the looks, Afroz, 17, is like any other teenager. But, this youngster is not only kind-hearted, but also a `braveheart'.

Exhibiting rare presence of mind, Afroz saved the life of a one-and-half-a-year-old boy Muzammil when the latter accidentally fell into an open manhole, a couple of days ago at Natrajnagar in Erragadda.

While taking a nap, Afroz was suddenly awakened by loud cries outside his house on Monday evening. He came out and saw the boy's distraught parents frantically searching for their tiny tot who had gone missing.

Afroz was alerted by a washerman Mallesh about the possibility of the boy having slipped into the drain. When the youth bent down and looked into the manhole, he heard feeble cries of the boy.

Afroz immediately jumped into the five-foot deep drainage line through the manhole. "I could hear the boy crying from a distance, but could not see him since it was pitch dark inside," Afroz recalled, while speaking to The Hindu on Wednesday.

Determined

The determined youngster inched forward and stumbled upon the boy when he was just about to drown in the slushy water. Afroz emerged out of the manhole to a hero's welcome. Brushing aside the accolades, the Inter first year student said he did not do anything great. "Earlier also, I had helped locate missing children and only wished the Almighty would help me in such deeds," was all the modest teenager had to say.

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