'I initially thought a stray stone had hit the bus's windshield'

Salim Gafoor Shaikh says when terrorists attacked his bus, his sole aim was to get to an Army camp. Pic/Shadab Khan

Salim Gafoor Shaikh has lost count of the number of times he visited Mumbai in the 10 years since he began driving tourist buses, but never was he ever the toast of the town.

The 37-year-old is the hero who drove through a torrent of bullets in pitch darkness when terrorists attacked a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Kashmir's Anantnag on July 10. He kept driving till he reached an Army camp, 2 km from the ambush site, saving the lives of 52 passengers. Eight others died in the attack.

Also read - Mumbai: Muslim non-profits deem the Amarnath attacks 'anti-islamic', protest at Azad Maidan

On a three-day visit to Mumbai, beginning July 20, for felicitations and rewards for his act of bravery - many politicos and NGOs are honouring him across states - Shaikh is still getting used to his newfound fame.

"I never imagined that so many people would invite me for felicitations. I have been honoured by NGO Raza Academy of Pydhonie, and rewarded with two cheques of Rs 50,000 each by a politician and an NGO in Mumbra. A Surat-based gaurakshak dal also felicitated me, and the Surat inspector general of police awarded me with an appreciation certificate," says the native of Maharashtra's Jalgaon district who has been residing in Valsad in Gujarat for the last 18 years with his wife and three children. "I'm getting calls from my village in Jalgaon, Malegaon, different places in Gujarat and Srinagar for felicitations."

Bullets rained down
Of that ill-fated night, he says he was assigned the job of driving the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims at the last minute. "Another driver was supposed to take them. But when the tour operators (Gujarat-based Om Sai Travels) realised that I was more familiar with the treacherous terrain of the mountains - I have been taking pilgrims on the trek for the last four years - they replaced him with me. We got late in returning from the yatra by 2 hours and had to travel after sundown (which is prohibited by the Army) that day owing to a punctured tyre."

Also read - Amarnath terror attack: Brave bus driver saved many pilgrims' lives

When the first bullet hit the bus, Shaikh initially thought a stray stone had hit the windshield. "But it was followed by a hail of bullets, and I knew it was an attack. Some passengers saw men outside in military fatigues, assumed that they were Armymen and told me to stop the bus," he recalls.

But Shaikh gunned the engine and kept driving till he came upon an Army camp. "I knew that Armymen are posted every 2 km in that region. My plan was to immediately get the passengers to safety. Once we reached the Army camp, we found that seven passengers had died (another succumbed to her injuries a few days later). I'm glad I could save the others," he says.

Fulfilling desires
Shaikh will next return to Kashmir along with Om Sai Travels officials to take back the bus from the authorities.

Also read: Amarnath Yatra terror attack opens old wounds for Mumbai resident

On Saturday, as he waited for another round of felicitations at a luxury hotel in Bandra West, he indulged in a guilty pleasure his busy itinerary never allowed him: wait outside Shah Rukh Khan's residence, Mannat, to catch a glimpse of the superstar and take a stroll down the beach. "Since my previous visits to the city were as a tour driver, I never got a chance to be a tourist myself. I'm now soaking in Mumbai as much as I can," he says.