Wearing slippers in his hands instead of his legs, a polio-infected student from Bihar has utilised his coaching in Kota to success, and is now studying in NIT Arunachal Pradesh.

Deepak Singh, originally from a village in the Paliganj region of Patna district (Bihar), has defied all odds to reach a place people like him rarely reach. His mother passed away immediately after his birth, and he was struck with polio when just 4 months old. His father, Rampukar Singh, started playing a dual role of mother & father to him. Deepak went to the local school and studied in the Hindi medium till class 8. “There would be no electricity at home due to poverty, and I would have to study outdoors,” he recalls. Later, he went to the Paliganj school for higher classes. His father encouraged him and helped him through his struggles. He also ensured that Deepak was admitted in Allen Career Institute in Kota, to prepare for the JEE.

“I would wear chappals on my hands as otherwise they would bleed after walking,” he reminisces. His friends, Mayank Kumar & Avinash Shankar, encouraged him throughout this time. Their trust in him paid off after he scored an All India Rank of 1200, in the Disabled category. He has joined NIT Arunachal Pradesh, where he will study Chemical Engineering.

Allen Career Institute, Kota, Director Naveen Maheshwari said, “Deepak, despite his disabilities, has achieved the successes students who are physically normal are unable to achieve.” The institute provided a fee rebate of 75% to Deepak for his coaching, and has also awarded him a scholarship of Rs. 1,500 per month for the four years of his engineering degree.