Assam government presented 1st state bravery award to Gunjan Sarma

The Assam government on 17 November 2014 presented the first state bravery award to Gunjan Sarma in Guwahati.

15 year old Gunjan, a resident of Sivsagar district was awarded with Assam’s first ever bravery award for saving lives of 10 school children who were taken hostage by a gunman on 4 December 2013.

Gunjan Sarma, a student of Nazira Central School in Sivasagar district of Assam volunteered to accompany the gunman who hijacked their school van carrying students. She volunteered to accompany the gunman in order to save lives of other students but later was abandoned in a dense forest along Assam-Nagaland border at night.

She managed to find her way out of the forest at the dawn.  Her saga of bravery compelled the Assam government to institute a state bravery award.

Earlier, the Assam government had to postpone the award function following injuries sustained by Gunjan and her family member in an accident at Bokakhat on their way to Guwahati to receive the award.