Published On : Thu, Oct 27th, 2016

Driver who worked for Padmini Kolhapure, Poonam Dhillon is now a beggar!

Advertisement
amol-walkar

Banraj Akhande ( right ) with Amol Walke

Nagpur: A man who drove for yesteryear’s actresses Padmini Kolhapure, Poonam Dhillon has been living in extreme penury and leading a miserable life of a beggar. Yes, he has taken to begging alms to meet his ends. He had worked for the actresses as driver for the long time.

Born in Ghatladki in Amravati district, this semiliterate but adventurous man named Banraj Akhande left for Delhi in search of employment. From there he went to Kuwait and later Dubai. But the attraction of Bollywood drew him back to the motherland. He landed in Mumbai and destiny helped him get a job as a driver of the actress Padmini Kolhapure, Later he became the driver of another actress Poonam Dhillon and then the starlet Shiba.

Unfortunately, while crossing the railway line in Dombivali, he was knocked down by a local train. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in Sion hospital. He had survived the accident but lost his legs. The doctors nursed him back to normal health and one day they gave him a wheel chair and got rid of him.

He got into train and wanted to get down at Badnera but could not and hence he reached Nagpur. There he had nothing to support himself, so he started begging. He was found begging by a good Samaritan named Amol Walke who heard his story. Banraj said that he got to know the actresses because of his softspokenness and charming manners. He acquired a new glamour in his circle of friends. But while living in Delhi, he lost his wife and since that moment his life became extremely unstable. After the personal tragedy, he kept himself away from glamour and did not take advantage of his connections.

In Nagpur he was begging for one and a half months before being spotted by the good Samaritan who gave him support. Amol Walke who is a well-known builder rushed to the help of Banraj who had not had hearty meal since days. Walke fed him to his heart’s content and gave him a good bath too as Banraj had not taken bath since last four months. He also took him to doctor.

There are many people like Banraj around us. While celebrating Diwali, we should remember such unfortunate brethren and extend them a helping hand. Helping the unfortunate fellow human beings will add further joy to the Diwali celebrations.