Which of the following men was honoured with the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak, the second highest gallantry award given to civilians in India for acts of life saving bravery?

Introduction / Context:
India has several gallantry awards to recognise acts of courage and life saving by civilians. The Jeevan Raksha Padak series honours individuals who risk their own safety to save others in dangerous situations. Within this series, the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak is the second highest distinction. This question tests your awareness of an important contemporary example where a civilian displayed remarkable bravery and received this award, which is often highlighted in current affairs sections of competitive exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The award mentioned is the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak.
- It is described as the second highest gallantry award for civilians in India within the Jeevan Raksha Padak series.
- The options list the names Salim Gafur Shaikh, Saurabh Sinha, Nihalchand Sodhi, Mahendra Giri, and Ajay Bhatnagar.
- We assume familiarity with news reports about bravery during incidents such as attacks on pilgrims or rescue operations.

Concept / Approach:
The Jeevan Raksha Padak series specifically honours life saving acts such as rescues during attacks, accidents, drowning incidents, or natural disasters. Exam focused news notes frequently mention that bus driver Salim Gafur Shaikh from Gujarat received the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak for saving the lives of many Amarnath pilgrims by driving his bus out of a terrorist ambush. To answer correctly, you need to associate the name of this award with this well reported act of bravery and not confuse it with other individuals who have received different honours.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the award in question is a civilian gallantry decoration for saving lives.
Step 2: Recall prominent news stories where a civilian received the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak.
Step 3: Remember that Salim Gafur Shaikh, a bus driver, was honoured after he saved dozens of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims by driving through gunfire.
Step 4: Compare this recollection with the given options and match the name Salim Gafur Shaikh.
Step 5: Confirm that the other names are not associated directly with this specific award in exam oriented general knowledge.

Verification / Alternative check:
As a secondary check, many competitive exam question banks repeat this same question with the same options and consistently mark Salim Gafur Shaikh as the correct answer. Lists of recipients of the Jeevan Raksha Padak awards issued on Republic Day also name him as a recipient of the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak. This confirms that selecting his name is consistent with reliable sources and common exam practice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Saurabh Sinha is not listed as the recipient of the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak in standard exam current affairs summaries, so choosing him would be an unsupported guess.
Nihalchand Sodhi may appear in other contexts related to bravery, but he is not identified as the awardee for this particular decoration in the usual exam material.
Mahendra Giri is known in some environmental and conservation contexts, but he is not the civilian gallantry awardee referred to in this question.
Ajay Bhatnagar is included only as an additional distractor name and has no widely known connection to the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak in exam level general knowledge.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to guess based purely on how familiar a name sounds rather than on specific recall from news or study notes. Another error is to confuse this award with other bravery decorations or to mix up different recipients from different years. It is important to link the name of the award, the nature of the act, and the correct individual together rather than relying on partial memory.

Final Answer:
The man honoured with the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak, the second highest gallantry award for civilians, is Salim Gafur Shaikh.