He has been a witness to bomb blasts, seen mangled bodies of victims on the roads, lived with threat to his life from terror groups and yet nothing scares him more that the thought of going back to the streets from where he was picked up nine years ago.
Rahul, now a 20-year-old young man, was only 11 when he became the prime witness to the 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts that left at least 30 people dead and over 100 injured.
A street urchin then, Rahul helped the Delhi Police draw the sketches of the two men he saw getting off an auto-rickshaw and putting something suspicious into a trash can at Barakhamba Road. The can blew up 15 minutes later.
President’s medal
Aided by the information given by the little boy, the city police made arrests within three hours of the blasts.
The incident changed his life as Rahul was awarded the President’s National Bravery Award (2007-08) and taken into government care, which translated into a shelter as well as security for him.
That happy story, however, is over with Rahul turning an adult, too old to stay at a children’s home. He still has not cleared his Class XII exam and with a few basic work skills (he has done a course in salesman programme) he is staring at an uncertain future, where the prospect of returning to the streets is very high.
Going strong
“Right now I am trying to clear my Class XII exam. I am currently living on ‘borrowed’ time at a centre run by Kailash Satyarthi, children’s rights and education advocate. But I can’t stay here forever. This is a home for rescued children. I need to find a job and shift out at least by the end of this month,” says Rahul.
Hanuman Mandir again
Asked where he would go, he says: “With no parents, no support from either the central or the state government, no job or home… my going back to Hanuman Mandir seems inevitable. Nobody has the time to care about a street boy anyway.”
“I am frightened. I wish I had words to explain the horrors of living on the streets,” he adds.
(Extreme Right) Master Rahul, who helped police in identifying terrorists who planted bombs in Delhi with other bravery awardees.
Security concerns over his safety -- Rahul was the prime witness in the blasts case -- resulted in the boy being kept away from regular school and having to study through distance learning. “I started my education late and I am not very good at studies either. The government took care of me, but now I am begging with folded hands, asking them not to abandon me,” he says.
Enquired about his status, a senior official at the Kailash Satyarthi office said: “Rahul was offered shelter when he became too old to be given accommodation in a children’s home. He has also been offered a small sum of money for working with the rescued child labourers who are temporarily stationed with us. This centre, of course, isn't equipped to deal with individual needs.”
Government schemes
Bravery awards are given to children in the age group of 6 to 18. It includes a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. The Bharat Award winner gets a gold medal, while the rest get a silver medal. Each child is also given financial assistance to complete his or her schooling as part of the government sponsorship programme under the Indira Gandhi scholarship scheme.
In the dark
In 2009, the Central government announced that it was reserving some seats in medical, engineering and polytechnic colleges for the winners of the bravery awards.
Unfortunately, Rahul doesn’t seem to know anything about this. “I have written to the President and to the Delhi Chief Minister about my condition. I am hoping that someone will hear me out… I just want a job and a roof over my head. I don’t want to go back to begging and living in night shelters,” he says wiping his tears as the President’s medal dangles from his neck.
