In Mumbai’s mindless rush, a rare tale of compassion



Vashi

Syed Nasser Hussain

Vashi bridge

Mankhurd

Mumbai Hero rescues Goa teenager from kidnapper RPF team led by Rekha Mishra nabs 38-year-old accused from Dadar station

Neighbours

Hyderabad: Dalit youth commits suicide after in-laws take away his wife, torture his family In a tragic incident, a dalit youth committed suicide after being upset over his in-laws taking away his wife and objecting to their inter-caste love marriage.

1. Syed Nasser Hussain, owner of a plumbing material store, spots the 18-year-old ready to jump into the Vashi creek and manages to stop her; 2. After counselling her, he drops her home. Since her parents are not home, he asks a neighbour to take care of her

On his way home, he feels he made a mistake leaving the girl home alone. Goes back to find her hanging. Rushes her to a hospital; ILLUSTRATION: ROHAN PORE

walking barefoot

On Monday night, as he rode his bike home,just could not ignore that niggling doubt in his head. If he had, the 18-yearold girl he prevented from jumping into the creek fromjust a few hours ago would have hung herself to death at her home inThough bone tired from six hours of counselling the girl and then dropping her home, Hussain, 43, decided to go back to check on her. When he reached the girl’s home, she had locked herself in.helped him break the door open and they found her hanging from the ceiling fan. After being untied and a few minutes of artificial resuscitation, the girl was rushed to Shatabdi Hospital and from there to Sion Hospital. Yesterday, doctors told Mumbai Mirror that she was stable and out of danger. Hussain had reached her – twice that night – in the nick of time.It was a combination of a trained eye, learnings from two past experiences, and a strong gut feeling that helped Hussain save the class XII student. But all those qualities would have failed if Hussain did not have what most in this city-in-atearing hurry lack – time to stop and help a fellow human being.Hussain, a resident of Deonar, was on his way home after shutting his plumbing material store in Vashi on Monday around 8.30 pm when he saw this “reasonably well-dressed” girlon the bridge.Two years ago, Hussain had spotted a girl jumping from the bridge. She was saved after he managed to alert the cops nearby and they, in turn, mobilised the local fishermen. Nine months ago, once again, he saw a girl scribbling a note sitting on the bridge. By the time he stopped the bike and reached her, she had climbed the railing and was about to jump. He managed to grab her.Both the girls, he now remembered, were barefoot.But even before Hussain could stop his bike, she had climbed the railing to jump. Hussain dropped his bike, made a dash for her and managed to grab her before she could take the plunge.As a small crowd gathered, Hussain spent the next hour or so counselling the girl – asking her about her parents, friends, college and what had distressed her so much. It turned out to be a case of a broken heart. She was cheated on by her boyfriend.While initially reluctant to give Hussain her address, she eventually told him she was a resident of Mandala, a small locality between Mankhurd and Deonar. Hussain took her there, but it turned out to be a wrong address. After much persuasion, she finally told Hussain she lived in Mankhurd with her mom and dad.It was close to midnight by now. Hussain took her to Mankhurd, but her house was locked. When he checked with a neighbour, he confirmed it was the girl’s house and that her parents had gone to a hospital because her mom took ill suddenly. The neighbour had the keys to the girl’s house. Hussain left after the girl let herself in. While leaving, he asked the neighbours to take care of the girl till her parents returned.However, as he rode back home, he felt the girl could still harm herself. He felt his decision to leave the girl home alone wasn’t right. He turned his bike around and raced back. When he reached Mankhurd, he found his intuition was right.Hussain has since gone back to visit the girl twice. “I have had long conversations with her dad. She needs to be taken care of. I have told him he must support her to complete her education. She must grow into a confident woman who does not see unfaithfulness of a man as the end of the world,” he said.Hussain also said that Vashi bridge has become a suicide spot because the streetlights there don’t work. “It is pitch dark. The municipal authorities must do something about it.”The grateful father of the girl told Mirror, “Had he not been there, I would have lost my daughter. He saved her twice I can’t thank him enough.”