Former cricketer Virender Sehwag on Thursday shared the photo of a 12-year-old boy, one of the youngest freedom fighters of India, to mark Children's Day. Baji Rout was shot dead by British soldiers after he refused to ferry them across a river.
"At the age of 12 ,this young boy was on guard of a country boat and was ordered by the British troop to ferry them across river Brahamani," Virender Sehwag wrote on Instagram, describing the details of Baji Rout's killing in 1938.
"Baji who had already heard details of the brutality of the troops which had killed innocent people in the village understood if the British troops were to be obstructed ,then they needed to be stopped from going across to the other bank. He therefore refused to ferry them across," the former cricketer wrote.
The child was shot hit on his head by a solider with his gun, resulting in a fractured skull. Virender Sehwag describes: "A soldier pierced his bayonet into the soft skull of Baji. Another British soldier started firing ruthlessly."
Virender Sehwag had shared a similar post on Baji Rout two years ago.
Baji Rout was born in October 5, 1926 in Nilakanthapur village in Odisha's Dhenkanal district in a poor Khandayat family. He lost his father at a young age and his mother worked in different houses to earn a living, according to an Odisha government website.
On the young freedom fighter's birth anniversary last month, Odisha-based sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik paid him tribute with a sand scutpure on the Puri beach. "His story of courage , selflessness and valour needs to be known to every child. Superhero," Mr Patnaik had tweeted.
JNU Sets Up Three Centres For Hindu, Buddhist And Jain Studies JNU Considering Reinstating Its PhD Entrance, Claims Teachers' Association Hardik Pandya Snubbed As Virender Sehwag Picks Rohit Sharma's Captaincy Replacement Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms UP Banker Dies By Suicide After 6 Months Of Bullying, Body-Shaming Secret Service Head To Testify To US House Panel On Trump Shooting Florida Man Arrested For Making Threats Against Biden 4 Killed, 3 Missing In Landslide In Karnataka Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.