When Ali blew away the fire

Alert as ever, Home Guard Akbar Ali alerted the driver and helped evacuate the occupants after he noticed sparks in the rear of a vehicle, saving four precious lives

Traffic Home Guard Akbar Ali proudly displays the cheque of Rs. 2,000 he was awarded for his alertness in helping rescue four people from a car that would shortly go up in flames, near Khairatabad recently. - Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

December 17 began like any other day for Akbar Ali (35), but it would eventually be one the Home Guard would not forget.

As usual, Ali was busy regulating traffic at Khairatabad junction. With the Assembly session in progress and VIP movement frequent on the stretch during the afternoons, he was all alert.

At around 12 noon, his attention was drawn to a Matiz car bearing the registration number UP-10D-6180.

“A lot of smoke was emanating from the car and I suspected something wrong. The next moment, I noticed sparks in the rear of the car and ran after it to alert the driver, but he thought otherwise and was trying to speed away,” Ali recalled.

A little later, the car stopped and Ali, with the help of the car driver – Kanchanbagh resident Manzoor Ali – pulled out the family safely from the car.

“The car caught fire after I pulled all the car’s occupants, including two women, a boy and the driver, out of the car,” he said.

The family was all praise for his timely action.

“They thanked me and my superior officers appreciated me,” Ali says, displaying the cash award of Rs. 2,000 he received for his courageous act.

Ali joined the police as a Home Guard in 1998. After a stint at the DGP office, he worked at different stations in the city.

He gets an honorarium of Rs. 200 a day. “To substantiate my earnings, I used to work as a security guard after duty hours but am not able to do it now due to the strict working hours,” he says.

Ali, who has passed SSC, wants his services regularised so that he need not have to run around to make ends meet.