'Helmet Man of India' sold house to distribute free helmets: Lauded by Nitin Gadkari, Sonu Sood

A video of a man offering a free helmet to a motorcyclist on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway went viral last month, gaining praises from netizens for the selfless act. Touted as the 'Helmet Man of India', Raghvendra Kumar from Bihar took on a mission of distributing free helmets about nine years ago after his roommate and close friend died in an accident after a tanker hit his bike from behind on the Yamuna Expressway.

The video shows Raghvendra driving his car on the Lucknow Expressway, wearing a helmet even inside the four-wheeler. He then slowly brings his car to a halt in front of a motorcyclist who was riding on the expressway without a helmet. When the rider pulls up to the driver side door of Raghvendra's car, he offers the biker a brand-new helmet and also schools him for not wearing one while riding his motorcycle.



Raghvendra Kumar has distributed over 56,000 helmets across the country till date, however, he is now said to be facing difficulties to sustain his campaign. In a bid to source helmets, he sold his Greater Noida apartment and even took out a loan using his wife's jewelry as collateral. Raghvendra was even lauded by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Government of India for his efforts, apart from other celebrities including Sonu Sood - who is also known for his philanthropic endeavors .



"Call me madman, but I'll continue in my endeavour for road safety. In the next few weeks, I'll shift back to my ancestral village Bhadari in Bihar's Kaimur district as I can't sustain the expense of buying a helmet and taking care of my family simultaneously. I have a six-year-old son (Ansh Singh) whom I planning to get admitted in a government-run school of my village as a cost-cutting measure, but I'll continue to buy helmets and save lives," said Kumar, who was legal advisor to many multinational companies before he became a full-time road safety volunteer.

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