VISAKHAPATNAM: In a rare display of honesty, two residents of Vizag returned gold pieces worth Rs 27 lakh to its rightful owner. Ambati Pola Raju (38), a petty trader and his brother-in-law Thanbala Srinu found some gold pieces near their feet while they were travelling in an APSRTC bus which was coming to Vizag city from Srikakulam.
Without a second thought, Pola Raju who observed that some passenger who sits in his front seat in the bus might have lost the gold pieces, tried to contact the person by visiting the RTC Complex in Vizag city. When he failed to locate the address of the person, Pola Raju and Srinu visited the PM Palem police station in Vizag city and handed the gold pieces to the police.
DCP (Crimes) V Suresh Babu said that P Durga Rao, goldsmith by profession and resident of Marikavalasa in Vizag city. He used to collect the gold pieces from owners of the jewellery shops at Narasannapeta and Srikakulam and he make gold ornaments at Kurupam Market in Vizag city and later handed over the ornaments to the owners of the shops.
In the process, he has collected 454 gms of gold pieces from five jewellery shops in Narasannapeta and he kept the gold pieces in a bag and boarded in a bus to reach Vizag city on July 24. Durga Rao got down the bus at Marikavalasa. Few minutes after getting down from the bus, he realized that he lost 454 gms of gold pieces on the bus. He immediately alerted the police by dialing 100 and later went to the PM Palem police station.
Pola Raju and Srinu who recollected that one person who sits on their front seat in the bus, got down at Marikavalasa, came back to PM Palem police station to hand over the gold. By the time they reached the police station, the victim Durga Rao also at the police station.
I decided to hand over the gold pieces to the police station to reach the rightful owner of the gold as I can understand the pain of the victim. I strongly believe that we should not keep others' hard earnings so that I returned, said Pola Raju. The police and Durga Rao thanked Pola Raju and Srinu. EOM
