Meet Rahmat Pasha from Hyderabad who turned hero for victims during Bondi Beach Attack
Hyderabad/Sydney: Mohammed Rahmat Pasha, a 37-year-old man from Hyderabad, emerged as an unlikely first responder during the recent shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia, helping injured victims even as the attacker continued firing.
Pasha, who hails from Vikarabad district in Telangana and previously lived in Masab Tank, Hyderabad, was walking along the beachfront a little after 7 pm when he heard sounds he initially mistook for firecrackers. Moments later, panic erupted as people began screaming and collapsing to the ground, making it clear that a shooting was underway.
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Recalling the incident in an interview to Vartha Bharati, Pasha said he saw the gunman advancing and firing. Despite fearing for his own life, he stopped to help an elderly woman who had been shot in the legs and was crying out for assistance. He sat beside her, comforted her, held her hand and reassured her until emergency services arrived.
“The shooter was not very far from me and I could see him clearly,” Pasha said. “I was scared, but I could not walk away when I saw someone badly injured and asking for help.”
Pasha assisted police and healthcare workers by helping move injured people onto stretchers and into ambulances. He said the scenes were chaotic and deeply disturbing, with people running in all directions to escape the gunfire. One of the victims, he recalled, succumbed to injuries while being assisted.
The father of three, who moved to Australia in 2019 to train as a chef, said the psychological impact of the incident has been severe. He has not returned to work since the attack and is struggling with sleep, managing only a few hours each night.
Screengrab from a video from during the attack wherein Pasha can be seen helping authorities
Speaking about the communal abuse and anti-immigrant rhetoric that surfaced online after the incident, Pasha rejected attempts to link the attack to religion. He said his faith teaches that saving one innocent life is equal to saving all of humanity and stressed that terrorism has no religion.
Pasha said he has received support and messages of solidarity from people around him in Australia, while his family in Hyderabad hopes he will return home soon.
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PUC student dies by suicide in Manipal after being advised to study
Manipal: A second-year PUC student died by suicide at Balkattu in Hirebettu village, reportedly after being upset over advice to focus on her studies.
The deceased has been identified as Samanvi, daughter of Mallika and a resident of Balkattu. She was studying in the second year at the Udupi Government Women’s Pre-University College.
According to police, on the evening of December 26, Samanvi’s mother advised her to study for the upcoming examinations as she was speaking on the phone instead. Following this, Samanvi is said to have been distressed.
Later, she allegedly attempted suicide by hanging herself from a fan in the bedroom. Family members immediately rushed her to a hospital in Manipal, but she succumbed during treatment.
A case has been registered at the Manipal police station, and further investigation is underway.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
