Odisha auto rickshaw driver returns valuables to owner

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Feb 21:

Purnachandra Jali’s honesty has given the Katkias (residents of Odisha’s Cuttack city) yet another reason to boast of its varied cultural heritage and ethnicity, apart from its rich maritime glory.

Purnachandra Jali (28), hailing from Samal village under Khallikote block in Ganjam district, has changed the perception of autorickshaw drivers of being bad-mouthed, deny short trips or con commuters as he returned a traveller’s luggage having valuables of worth over Rs 2 lakh.

The honest rickshaw driver, a registered member at the pre-paid stand at the railway station here, picked up his sawari (passenger) from the bay at around 7.30 am yesterday. Jali dropped the passenger, Gajanan Periwal, at his residence in Bakharabad in the city and returned back to his joint without realising that the person has forgotten to pick his luggage from the rear.

Upon finding the belongings of the passenger, the young man handed it over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) staff. The IIC of GRP station Jyotiranjan Samantaray found the identity and contact details of Gajanan Periwal from the luggage and contacted the owner to handover the valuables to its rightful owner.

The valuables worth over Rs 2 lakh include cash and gold jewellery.

A relieved Periwal, police and autorickshaw union members offered their gratitude towards the driver for his exemplary act.

Meanwhile, the young autorickshaw driver’s selfless service has gathered much accolades from one and all and has become a topic of coffee-table discussion in the town.