There is a story going around the Internet about a 35-year-old retired Gorkha who singlehandedly took on anywhere from 10-40 armed thugs who were (a) attempting to rob a train and (b) attempting to rape a passenger on the train. Using only his kukhuri knife, he killed three and sent the rest packing.

The Czar has concluded the story is a fabrication.

Here is the story as reported. Go ahead and read it. Wonderfully sensational, and awesome how the girl looks into his eyes—as he apparently stands there idly—and begs him to think of her as his sister. Only then, Wolverine-like, he starts hacking away.

Anyway, people all over the web are talking about this, commending him, and cheering on his bravery. But they all link back to the same story, with the exact same wording.

Except.

The event allegedly happened in September, 2010; although a train robbery did occur on September 3, 2010, the actual news story recounts that 11 armed men robbed passengers, injuring four passengers badly enough to require hospitalization. Six of the eleven were ultimately injured. No reports of any knife-wielding Gorkha abord.

The sensational story does not appear any earlier than January 11, 2011…months after the event. And all (and only) from Nepalese internet sources.

The medal he is purported to receive is actually the Shourya Padak, a medal of bravery reserved for Indian police officers, not Nepalese citizens.

At any event, India’s Republic Day occurred on January 26th, and no medal was awarded to anyone with that name.

Further, there is no record of him winning the Godfrey Philips Bravery medal, either. He is not even on the nomination list.

Regrettably, Bishnuprasad Shrestha is also a very common Nepalese name.

If you read other versions on the web, you can also track how the story evolves from chasing away several and wounding three, to subduing all 40 robbers in about two weeks.

The Czar declares the story either a hoax or exaggerated beyond belief. Until there is some independent corroboration, the Internet needs to calm down about this guy.

UPDATED!

The Czar is happy to report that some elements of the story are quite true.

A factual account has been located. Note the remarkable differences between this version and the internet one. Mind you, what he did was pretty incredible, but the real story runs more like an instinctive self-defense move that almost cost him his life. The rape has vanished from the story, his age and name are different, and there is no mention of medals for bravery.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.