KOZHIKODE: Shaji Pappan played with fire along with his gang. A life challenging operation to save his village from a disaster ....Pappan is like a tiger

When the straw in the running lorry caught fire, the driver stopped the vehicle and ran away. The Kodancherry market would be on fire, if the diesel of the lorry exploded. There Shaji Pappan and his group came to the rescue. Despite the fire and smoke, he jumped into the lorry and drove to the nearest school ground. As he drove the lorry round by turning, straws that caught fire were thrown out. A group of locals, police and firefighters reached the location and put out the fire. The village is preparing to pay homage to Shaji Pappan and his gang.

Shaji Pappan and his 14 gang members are all part of the Royal Friends Club in Kodancherry. After the release of Jayasurya's movie 'Aadu', Shaji Varghese was called as 'Pappan' by his friends.

The Pappan gang became famous after the operation to pick up a Nano car that overturned in Kolli on the Kodancherry-Thamassery route two years ago. Shaji Pappan got a call at midnight and he reached the spot along with his gang. At a depth of about fifty feet, the car was stuck on a ledge. By the time firefighters arrived, Pappan and his crew had pulled the car out. The driver was also rescued.

Shaji Pappan lives in Kodancherry ,Kanjirappara. His family includes his wife, Queen, and three children. He worked as an auto driver and later took bought a school bus with a large loan.But he had to sell the bus during Covid period due to financial crisis. He is now a welder in the workshop.

While riding his bike through the market, he saw lorry carrying straw on fire. He stopped by and called his gang. The lorry was on fire and if it continued, the market will also be on fire. He informed the police and jumped into the lorry. There was smoke and fire in the cabin and I felt suffocated. While I was driving the vehicle around the school ground, others put out the fire ,said PappanThe owner of the vehicle, a Palakkad resident, thanked Pappan.