Meet the 13-year-old boy selected for National Bravery Award

Chandigarh: Dishant Mehndiratta, a 13-year-old boy, who saved his mother from a robber, has been selected for National Bravery Award-2015.

Dishant, a Class 8 student of Saupins School, Sector 9, Panchkula, was selected for the National Bravery Award-2015 by the Indian Council for Child Welfare.

"I feel encouraged with the appreciation I have received from the local administration," he said.

Recalling the incident, Dishant's mother Archana said that she still does not know how her son summoned up the courage to knock the knife out of the hands of the intruder who was holding it to her neck as he demanded the valuables in the house.

One second, Dishant was begging the intruder to spare his mother, the next second, the knife was on the floor, and the mother and son had managed to overpower the man.

Dishant will receive a medal, certificate and cash prize by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Republic Day function on January 26 in the national capital.

Recalling the incident which happened on April 4, Archana, 42, said that the robber threatened to kill her children, Dishant and younger brother Ryaan (8) and asked them to get all cash, valuables in the house, or else he would kill her.

Dishant was at his home in Sector 20 with his mother, Archana who works with Life Insurance Corporation and Ryaan.

His father, Ravinder, who is a chartered accountant, had just left for his office, when an unidentified man visited the house around 2 p.m.

After being invited in, the unidentified man began talking with Dishant and Archana went inside to call her husband.

Ravinder spoke to the man on the phone, but did not know who he was and told him to come some other day. The man then asked to use the bathroom. When Archana was showing him the way to it, he took out a knife and put it on Archana's neck.

Dishant then fell down at the feet of the unidentified man and began to plead with him for her mother's safety.

A moment later, Dishant stood up, and grabbed the knife from the accused and threw it away.

There was a fight between the accused and the family, in which both Archana and the accused, suffered minor injuries.

Even then the family was able to raise the alarm, and got the accused arrested.

Dishant said that he would ask all the children to be brave, and not get bogged down by fear.