A Man Drove His Auto-Rickshaw Onto a Train Platform to Help a Woman in Labour

An auto-rickshaw driver took things to the next level on Sunday, August 4, when he leapt onto a Mumbai local train platform in his rickshaw to rescue a pregnant woman who had gone into premature labour. A seven-months pregnant woman and her husband were travelling in a train compartment reserved for disabled people when their journey came to a halt because of heavy rains. They were waiting for their train to depart Virar railway station when the woman went into labour and began experiencing immense pain.

In an effort to rush to her rescue, her husband ran out of the train station and found 34-year-old auto driver Sagar Kamlakar Gawad with his vehicle parked near the station. Gawad, then, jumped into his rickshaw to take the woman and her husband to the hospital.

However, despite the good deed, the driver was later arrested for flouting the rules. "Seeing his wife's condition, the husband started panicking and rushed out of the compartment to ask for help,” local police inspector Praveen Kumar Yadav told news agency ANI. “He found Gawad, whose auto was parked in the space allotted by Western Railway (WR) right next to platform number two. He urged Gawad to help him, following which, he brought his auto-rickshaw on the platform and rode towards Sanjeevani Hospital in Virar.”

While the Railway Protection Force (RPF) let him get away with the act at the time since the pregnant woman was in extreme labour pain, they caught up with him after and arrested him for breaking the rules. "Even though Gawad's intentions were good, he has violated the rules. Driving on the platform could have injured commuters,” continued Yadav.

The driver was charged under Sections 154 for rash driving or doing a negligent act and 159 which pertains to the disobedience of drivers of the Railway Act, 1989. Thankfully, the good Samaritan who saved the day was released on bail with a warning. Thanks to him, the woman made it to the hospital on time and gave birth to her baby.

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