Mumbai: Colaba youth jumps into sea at high tide to save man

The Colaba police felicitate Peer Muhammad after he saved Devesh Kansithia from drowning

On Thursday morning, Colaba locals were witness to a stellar act of bravery by a 24-year-old after he jumped into the sea to save a drowning man. The resident, Peer Muhammad, was later felicitated by the police.

Under water
Speaking to mid-day, Muhammad said, "It was 11 am... I was sitting by the pool at Radio Club, where I have been working for almost four years now as a coordinator at the swimming pool. That's when I heard people screaming about someone having fallen into the deep waters - there were shouts of 'ladka gir gaya hai' (boy has fallen) and ‘aadmi dub raha hai' (a man is drowning)."

Devesh Kansithia, a native of Gwalior, is now stable and recuperating.

"I immediately jumped in and managed to keep the semi-unconscious man afloat. It being high tide, it was a tough situation until the police arrived. They threw a floater at us, which helped. Constable Pravin Bhalerao saheb kept encouraging me to hold on and that they would pull us both out in no time. They then threw a rope, which I tied around the man's waist and pushed him towards the shore. The whole thing took at least 25 minutes.

"I am happy I saved a life. And it felt great when senior officers at Colaba police station felicitated me and patted me on the back, saying, ‘You did a brave thing, great!'," he added.

Copsspeak
The victim, identified as Devesh Kansithia (26), was sitting at the promenade near Radio Club, when he lost his balance and fell into the water below, said an officer. The police admitted him to St George hospital, where his condition is said to be stable.

"We saw the two boys in the sea and mobile van number 1 of Colaba police station, which was on patrol duty, noticed the act. We used the equipment at hand to get them both out," said Bhalerao, who was the first to reach the spot.

The braveheart
Muhammad, who lives with his elder sister and mother, said he took to swimming at a very young age.
"I have loved swimming since childhood. My father passed away when I was only three. My mother has brought me up and always taught me to help others. She was overjoyed to hear about my feat," he said.

Senior officer Vijay Ghopavkar said, "He is young and yet, without a second thought to his own life, he jumped in to save the drowning man. Such a good deed has to be felicitated, and hence, we did. We have also noted down the incident in our records."