Cops shadow brave Delhi blast witness

Rahul, the teenaged balloon seller who helped Delhi cops draw sketches of terrorists who planted bombs in dustbins in the city on September 13, may have won the bravery award for his deed, but finds himself secluded.

The reason -- cops fear the risk of exposing their prime witness before the media.

So when Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit was felicitating the bravery award winning children, Rahul was forced to stay indoors. Three plain-clothed policemen were hand-picked by the special branch to ensure that the media never had a glimpse of the teenager.

"We got a request from the Delhi Police, urging that the boy should not be exposed to the media and showed on television time and again," Geeta Siddartha, president of Indian Council for Child Welfare told rediff.com, confirming the restriction placed on the boy and his movement.

The Delhi Police, on their part, say the restriction had been imposed for the boy's safety.

Twenty-four people were killed in the five blasts that rocked Delhi. Rahul had helped the cops drawing the sketch of the terrorist who planted the bomb in a dustbin at Barakhamba Road