, awarded by the Indian government "
for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army"|282x282px In September 2010, Bishnu Shrestha was a 35-year-old Gurkha soldier who had just retired. robbers, armed with "guns, daggers and tangis" stopped the train they were on near
Chittaranjan,
West Bengal, and robbed and injured other passengers. Shrestha was asleep when the bandits reached him. Awakened, he was preparing to hand over his valuables, but an 18-year-old girl next to him was grabbed by the robbers who intended to rape her. The girl, who was traveling with her parents, called for help. As one of the bandits was snatching a woman's earrings, Shrestha pulled out the large, curved
khukuri that all Gurkha soldiers carry and attacked the criminals, injuring three of them, he recalled, although another report stated three bandits were killed and eight more were injured. Shrestha told the
Times of India: Bleeding and defeated, Shrestha succeeding in preventing the assault of the girl, but the thieves continued robbing the passengers. Six robbers were arrested, according to a security commandant, and Rs 10,470 in cash, 33 mobile phones, 14 wristwatches, an ATM card, two pistols, live cartridges, and seven daggers in their possession were seized from them. Shrestha recovered full use of his injured hand after receiving two months of medical treatment. Another source reported that loot was recovered elsewhere that totaled "around 400,000 Indian rupees in cash, 40 gold necklaces, 200 cell phones, 40 laptops and other items that the fleeing robbers dropped in the train", although the news report did not mention if these figures were confirmed by the authorities. ==Aftermath==