MUMBAI: Winning accolades comes naturally for Ravindra Kumar Saini. The boxing player, who has won medals at national-level railway tournaments, found a tired child stumbling along the railway tracks along a desolate stretch on the Panvel-Roha route and decided to take him under his wing. Employed with Central Railway as a locomotive pilot, Saini not only offered food and shelter to the lost 12-year-old but also managed to contact his family within a day. It turned out that the boy was an orphan from Uttar Pradesh and had travelled to Panvel with his aunt from whom he got separated.
On July 11, Saini was at Somatne getting goods offloaded from a train when he first noticed the youngster asking a pointsman for directions. “It was getting dark and I was concerned about the child’s safety,” said Saini. “I couldn’t leave from work so I let the boy sit in my locomotive and eat from my tiffin. He was exhausted and took a nap soon after.”
