Bishnu Shrestha pulled out the large, curved kukri knife that all Gurkha soldiers carry and attacked the bandits. Shrestha told the Times of India, "I am a soldier and get paid to protect citizens of this country. I could not sit back and watch as passengers were looted. I pulled out my khukri and attacked the criminals. I succeeded in connecting with at least three of them. The blows were severe and they must have got themselves admitted to some hospital. By then, the criminals started fighting back. They fired a shot that missed me. At one point of time, the khukri
The Gurkha Welfare Trust in the Second World War; however they had not served the 15 years needed to qualify for an army pension. Unlike their British counterparts who could rely on the welfare state in old age, the Nepalese Gurkha had no such safety net. In recognition of the country’s debt of honour to these soldiers, a public appeal – organised by British Gurkha officers – raised £1m to establish The Gurkha Welfare Trust. It began to create a network of bases in Nepal to distribute financial aid to retired soldiers who had met with disasters such as landslides and floods. The Trust