Bus driver Sheikh Salim Gafur, who saved 52 #Amarnath pilgrims, awarded 2nd highest civilian honour 

The Gujarati bus driver who saved 52 Amarnath pilgrims from terror attack has been bestowed the “Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak.”

A bus driver from Gujarat who drove in the course of a hail of bullets and saved the lives of more than 50 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims last year has been preferred for the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak, the second highest honor given to civilians for bravery after the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak.

The Home Ministry declared this on Wednesday ahead of Republic Day.

Sheikh Salim Gafur showed rare grit and courageousness and continued to drive the bus which came under attack on July 10, 2017, in Jammu and Kashmir, a bus carrying 60 pilgrims was returning from the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. Around 8:30 pm, when the bus reached Batengoo in Amarnath district, a group of militants attacked the bus and started firing at random, an official statement read.

Seven pilgrims were killed and 14 wounded when terrorists opened fire on the bus near Batengoo in Anantnag district, at the same time 52 passengers runaway uninjured as Gafur showed his presence of mind.