NT Reporter
Vasco
South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes has written to the office of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recommending 15-year-old Nakshatra Nayak’s name to the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), the central agency responsible for selecting awardees for the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar to be bestowed on January 26, 2026.
He has additionally recommended her for the Veerjyoti Puraskar or the Rakshak Puraskar, whichever is applicable, for her brave and exemplary act. He requested that the matter be taken up with
the central government
and personally pursued with the ICCW.
“I am also writing to the Prime Minister regarding the brave and exemplary act of Nakshatra Nayak, recommending the national bravery award to be bestowed on the brave girl, who is now the pride of Goa,” Fernandes wrote.
During the attack, the girl reportedly stepped forward to shield her father, taking blows meant for him. After the robbers tied up the family and locked the flat, she freed herself. Discovering that the robbers had taken all mobile phones and locked neighbouring flats from the outside, she
exited through the broken window used by the attackers and sought help by alerting neighbours and her uncle on the first floor, he told reporters during his Tuesday visit to meet the Nayak family.
According to Fernandes, her quick thinking and bravery were crucial in ensuring her father received medical attention in time.
“The moment Sagar’s 15-year-old daughter saw the robbers beating her father, she folded her hands and pleaded with them not to hurt him. She repeatedly requested them not to beat her father, saying that her piggy bank contained a few 500-rupee notes which
they could take, but begged them not to harm her father,” he said.
