'Blade runner' in Darjeeling

TT: Major (retd) DP Singh, who had lost his right leg during the Kargil war, took part in a 6km run from Batasia Loop to Chowrasta in Darjeeling on Sunday. 

With a prosthetic leg, Singh took part as the chief guest of the event, organised by MARG, a Darjeeling-based non-profit organisation.  

"It was fun. I loved it. People of Darjeeling are charming. I am feeling blessed to be part of the town and the run for a cause. People were standing everywhere and cheering us," said Singh who lost the leg when a shell landed near him and burst during the Kargil war. Known as India's first "blade runner", Singh has been taking part in half marathons across the country for a couple of years.

The sobriquet is a reference to Oscar Pistorius (above), the South African double amputee who took part in the 2012 London Olympics with carbon fibre prosthetic legs. Pistorius has been sentenced to five years' jail term for killing his girlfriend.

The Darjeeling run was organised with the slogan "stop violence against women and children". Since 2009, Singh has taken part in 16 half-marathons. The ex-army officer has a Facebook page called "The Challenging Ones".