A Tirupati-based jeep driver was rewarded for his honesty by the police personnel here after he returned a bag, containing gold ornaments, to its owner as it is.
The driver, Narayana (30), ferried a batch of pilgrims from Tirumala to the railway station at Tirupati in the early hours of Monday. After a couple of hours, he found that the passengers had left behind a bag in his vehicle. The bag contained about 80 grams of gold ornaments, worth ₹4.5 lakh, besides some cash and documents.
In a telling example of honesty, the driver went straight to the traffic prepaid taxi counter at the railway station and handed over the bag to the constables on duty with all the contents intact.
The duo in turn passed on the information to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Mallikarjuna and Circle Inspector Suresh Kumar. The personnel at the Command Control points at Tirumala and Tirupati were instructed to identify the pilgrims who travelled in Narayana’s jeep.
In the meantime, B. Pandheeswari, from Tamil Nadu, realizing that she had lost her handbag, had returned to Tirumala from the railway station and lodged a complaint with the One Town police there. Within a few minutes, the police identified the woman and was handed over the bag.
SP (Tirupati Urban district) Ch. Venkata Appala Naidu presented a cash reward to jeep driver, besides giving him a pat for his honesty. The SP also announced rewards to the traffic personnel who had successfully restored the lost property to its owner.
