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A 24-year-old policeman, Manoj Barahate, did not think of his own life before diving off a 20-feet high bridge to save the life of a man who had jumped into the water. Had it not been for this quick thinking brave cop, the man would have lost his life.

The bravery and selflessness of policemen in India is seldom applauded. Their hard work and dedication go easily unnoticed. But every once in a while, we need to step back and acknowledge these unsung heroes who often put their own life in jeopardy on a day-to-day basis in the line of duty.

And this time, it is a young policeman from Maharashtra who deserves kudos for his courageous and quick-thinking response that saved a fellow human being’s life.

Manoj Barahate, a 24-year-old policeman from the Wardha district, is currently on duty at the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Nashik. Yesterday, unlike other days, there wasn’t much of an evening rush on the Amardham bridge where he is posted, along with his colleague and an assistant sub-inspector.

It was between 3 and 4 pm when a man came and stood near the railing at the centre of the bridge. There was nothing unusual about that so the policemen continued with their patrolling.

But suddenly they saw that the man had one leg up on the railing and was getting ready to to jump into the water. Manoj and his colleagues rushed to stop him but they could not reach on time and the man jumped off the 20-feet high bridge.

While many people rushed to watch what had just happened, some tried to enter the water from under the bridge to see if the man could be saved. But Manoj knew that there was no time to waste.

He took out his mobile phone and wallet from his pocket and without thinking twice jumped into the water.

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“The man looked to be about 45 years old, and he seemed to be talking to himself when we first noticed him,” says Manoj, who is currently working as a trainee police constable. He has been posted at the Kumbh Mela since the 10th of this month.

On being asked if he was not scared to jump from that height, Manoj said: “There was no other option. That was the only way to save him. I saw that there was no movement in the water after he jumped. So if I would have gone from under the bridge he would have lost his life.”

Praveen Gedam, IAS officer and Commissioner, Nashik Municipal Corporation, tweeted about Manoj’s bravery, along with pictures of him that were caught right on time by a CCTV camera.

Policeman Manoj Barahate jumped off from 20 ft high bridge to save a man. One more life saved! Salute to his #bravery pic.twitter.com/jPDmFy8Aoy — Praveen Gedam (@praveengedam) September 14, 2015

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