Mohan Paswan, the father of bicycle girl Jyoti Kumari – who cycled 1,200 km from Gurugram to Bihar's Darbhanga with her injured father riding pillion during the national lockdown in 2020 – died of a cardiac arrest on Monday, 31 May, at his native place in Bihar's Darbhanga district.
Jyoti’s father was an e-rickshaw driver in Haryana’s Gurugram. He had met with an accident in January 2020, following which Jyoti, along with her mother and four siblings, had come to Gurugram to stay with her father.
Once the lockdown was imposed and public transport shut off, she set off with her father and cycled for seven days. The father-daughter duo started their journey from Gurugram on 10 May on a cycle and reached their village on 16 May.
Mohan's wife Phulo Devi told The Wire that he was not suffering with any major ailment and was “absolutely well till morning".
“Today morning, he returned from a nearby bus stop and since then he has been feeling unwell. He had told us that he was feeling hot. We then put the fan on. After a few minutes he went upstairs and suddenly died,” she said.
Jyoti's incredible journey earned her the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. She was offered free tuition to appear for the IIT-JEE by Anand Kumar, founder of the widely-acclaimed coaching centre Super 30.
Jyoti was also called to a trial in Delhi by the Cycle Federation of India.
In an interview, her father had said that he owed her his life and is proud of her, but wanted her to prioritise her education.
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