--John Ross.
Nepali news account *HERE*.
Posted on 01/26/2011 7:34:20 PM PST by archy
Lone Nepali Gorkha who subdued 40 train robbers
MANOJ ADHIKARI/SANTOSH POKHAREL
POKHARA, Jan 13: Gorkha soldiers have long been known the world over for their valor and these khukuri-wielding warriors winning the British many a battle have become folklore.
A retired Indian Gorkha soldier recently revisited those glory days when he thwarted 40 robbers, killing three of them and injuring eight others, with his khukuri during a train journey. He is in line to receive three gallantry awards from the Indian government.
Slave girl Morgiana in the Arabian Nights used her cunning to finish off Ali Baba´s 40 thieves, but Bishnu Shrestha of Baidam, Pokhara-6 did not have time to plot against the 40 train robbers. He, however, made good use of his khukuri to save the chastity of a girl and hundreds of thousands in loot.
Shrestha, who was in the Maurya Express to Gorakhpur from Ranchi on September 2 while returning home following voluntary retirement from the Indian army--saved the girl who was going to be raped by the robbers in front of her hapless parents, and in doing so won plaudits from everybody.
The Indian government is to decorate Shrestha with its Sourya Chakra, Bravery Award and Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Medal and the 35-year-old is leaving for India Saturday to receive the first of the awards on the occasion of India´s Republic Day on January 26.
“The formal announcement of the awards will be made on Republic Day and on Independence Day on August 15,” said Shrestha, whose father Gopal Babu also retired from the same 7/8 Platoon of the Gorkha Regiment around 29 years ago.
His regiment has already given him a cash award of Indian rupees 50,000, and decided to terminate his voluntary retirement. He will get the customary promotion after receiving the medals. The Indian government will also announce a cash bounty for him and special discounts on international air tickets and domestic train tickets.
The band of about 40 robbers, some of whom were travelling as passengers, stopped the train in the Chittaranjan jungles in West Bengal around midnight. Shrestha-- who had boarded the train at Ranchi in Jharkhand, the place of his posting--was in seat no. 47 in coach AC3.
“They started snatching jewelry, cell phones, cash, laptops and other belongings from the passengers,” Shrestha recalled. The soldier had somehow remained a silent spectator amidst the melee, but not for long. He had had enough when the robbers stripped an 18-year-old girl sitting next to him and tried to rape her right in front of her parents. He then took out his khukuri and took on the robbers.
“The girl cried for help, saying ´You are a soldier, please save a sister´,” Shrestha recalled. “I prevented her from being raped, thinking of her as my own sister,” he added. He took one of the robbers under control and then started to attack the others. He said the rest of the robbers fled after he killed three of them with his khukuri and injured eight others.
During the scuffle he received serious blade injury to his left hand while the girl also had a minor cut on her neck. “They had carried out their robbery with swords, blades and pistols. The pistols may have been fake as they didn´t open fire,” he surmised.
The train resumed its journey after some 20 minutes and a horde of media persons and police were present when it reached Chittaranja station. Police arrested the eight injured dacoits and recovered around 400,000 Indian rupees in cash, 40 gold necklaces, 200 cell phones, 40 laptops and other items that the fleeing robbers dropped in the train.
Police escorted Shrestha to the Railways Hospital after the rescued girl told them about his heroic deed. Mainstream Indian media carried the story. The parents of the girl, who was going for her MBBS studies, also announced a cash award of Indian rupees 300,000 for him but he has not met them since.
“Even the veins and arteries in my left hand were slit but the injury has now healed after two months of neurological treatment at the Command Hospital in Kolkata,” he said showing the scar. “Fighting the enemy in battle is my duty as a soldier; taking on the dacoits in the train was my duty as a human being,” said the Indian army nayak, who has been given two guards during his month-long holidays in Nepal.
“I am proud to be able to prove that a Gorkha soldier with a khukuri is really a handful. I would have been a meek spectator had I not carried that khukuri,” he said.
He still finds it hard to believe that he took on 40 armed robbers alone. “They may have feared that more of my army friends were traveling with me and fled after fighting me for around 20 minutes,” he explained.
--John Ross.
Nepali news account *HERE*.
Why do I think the robbers were muslims?
Holey crap!, talk about a badass. Did they all come at him one by one, like in the movies
They have ALWAYS had a reputation as tough bastards. Anyone who would take that for granted does that at their own peril.
Samual Jackson WISHES he could portray this guy’s coolness!
Considering the setting, a narrow train aisle, they probably could come at him only one-at-a-time. That and he may or may not have been using one of them as a shield.
Badass of the week nominee.
The ghurkha said "shake your head" and then the kraut's head fell off.
Nice to see this gentleman keeping the tradition alive.
Kind of hard to rush as a mob on a train.
I would reckon that the aisleway between the seats helped channel his adversaries into a linear target. Once one went down, he then had access to the next one, and so on. And since he was presumably lacking body armor, holding up the sliced and diced carcass of the first one he had dealt with made an acceptable field expedient substitute, as well as presenting a nice example to the others as to what was coming their way.
AYO GHORKHALI!
An amazing story and a brave man!
*bump*
They thought the odds were forty to one.
They were forty to two. Him and his Khukuri.
During the Falklands the Ghurkas went out each night and decapitated a few solders in their foxholes. Pretty soon the Argentine soldiers flat out refused to do outpost duty at night, and the Brits could move about at will in the dark.
More info, pics and video *here*.
/johnny
I find that one a little hard to believe.
The Gurkha Regiment of the British Army has a fearsome reputation that is well deserved. They are currently fighting in Afghanistan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Gurkha_Rifles
Previously, during the Falklands War, Argentinian military manning defensive positions on the island were anticipating fighting British Army forces, and held their positions until they discovered that the Ghurkas were being deployed. This broke the Argentinian ranks and they deserted en masse, with intent to surrender before combat was engaged. This was a wise choice.
The large knife traditionally carried by Gurkhas is called the Kukri. An example of its typical use was in silencing enemy sentries. If the enemy were not wearing helmets, the Gurkha would silently sneak up behind him and cut his head in half, vertically. If he was wearing a helmet, he would be approached at an angle and his head would be cut off.
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