Here’s Why Akshay Kumar Is Proud of 19-Year-Old Shreya Naik from Mumbai

Shreya Naik, a student of Akshay Kumar’s institute, single handedly brings molester to his knees.

Walking back home at 6:30 in the evening last week, Shreya Naik came face-to-face with a molester. The 19 year old BMS student from Andheri was getting back from her internship, when she realised that she was being followed.

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“He suddenly came close and pounced on me. I started hitting him with one hand and with the other hand I was trying to call my mother to come down, as my house was just about 30 seconds away. He tried snatching my phone away as he didn’t want me to alert anyone,” Shreya recounted to Mid-Day.

Shreya was among the many women who had participated in the self-defense classes taught at the Women’s Self Defence Centre. The Centre, set up by Akshay Kumar and Aditya Thackeray, offers free martial training for women to teach them self-protection.

Shreya’s learnings from the Centre kicked her into action: “I caught his hair and gave him a ‘hammer,’ a style of attack taught to me at the Centre. He started pleading with me to let go, saying ‘Bas heath hi lagaya aur kya kia…’ I caught hold of his collar and started dragging him towards the main road. He was trying hard to get away but I held on to his collar. Later some people helped me and one person called the police. Within 10-15 minutes, the police arrived and he was arrested.”

She went on to thank the Centre for giving her the confidence to single-handedly take on her attacker: “I was a really meek girl and would get scared if someone touched me and never had the guts to complain or scream at the person. But in the centre, we are taught such techniques for self-defense that it has given me immense self-confidence. I am really grateful to Akshay Sir for inspiring us to be able to take care of ourselves. My parents didn’t want me to lodge a police complaint because they were worried about me, but I did and I am speaking about it so that every woman learns to take care of herself by learning self-defense.”

Watch students of the Women’s Self Defence Centre try out their moves on Akshay Kumar

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