Autorickshaw driver Khairul finds owner who left behind gold ornaments
Mohammad Shahin, a gold jewelry trader in Faridpur Upazila Sadar, Pabna. On the night of March 29, he bought 18.5 bhors of gold jewelry from Bogra New Market for about 2.5 million taka. He packed these gold jewelry and 15,000 taka in cash in a black bag and set off for Faridpur, Pabna. On the way, he forgot the bag in a CNG-powered autorickshaw.
Later, when he saw that the bag was not with him, he searched a lot but could not find the CNG-powered autorickshaw. Shahin had bought the gold jewelry from Bogra by investing all the capital of his business before Eid. He had lost the bag and managed to get on the road. But after seven days, the autorickshaw driver emerged as his ‘savior’. He received the bag, the gold jewelry and the money from him on Friday.
The name of this autorickshaw driver, who has set a unique example of honesty, is Khairul Islam. He is a second-year student of the Management Department of Government Shah Sultan College, Bogra. He lives in the Betgari area of Bogra city. He was born into a very poor family. After his father died, he took on the responsibility of the family. Along with his studies, he earned a living by driving a CNG-powered autorickshaw to meet the family’s needs. The incident of returning the gold ornaments and bags occurred at Bogra Sadar Police Station at midnight yesterday. At that time, the officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station (OC) SM Moinuddin, in-charge of the Sadar Outpost Serajul Islam, Sergeant Alamgir Hossain of the Traffic Department and local people were present. At that time, they expressed their admiration for the honesty of the college student Khairul. Khairul said that seven days ago, a gold merchant sitting in the passenger seat of his autorickshaw left a bag containing 18 and a half tons of gold ornaments and 15,000 taka in cash. He searched for the passenger who got out of the autorickshaw to return the bag. When he could not find the owner of the bag, he went home and told his mother about the incident. His mother ordered him to find the real owner and return the bag. As per his mother’s instructions, he found the real owner with the help of a police officer. Then, with the help of the police, he went to the police station and carefully returned the bag containing cash and jewelry to the owner.
Khairul said, “There is scarcity in the world, but there is no greed for other people’s wealth. Since childhood, I have grown up with the mentality of living honestly with what I have. I have never dreamed of becoming happy by stealing someone else’s wealth. Finally, last night, I was able to return the bag to the real owner. Seeing the heavenly smile on the businessman’s face after receiving the bag, my chest was filled with pride.” Meanwhile, gold merchant Shahin burst into tears in joy in front of the police after getting the lost bag containing gold ornaments and money. He said that he runs a jewelry business in Faridpur Upazila Sadar of Pabna. His home is in Uttar Gopalnagar village of that upazila. On the night of March 29, after buying 18.5 kg of gold ornaments from Bogra New Market, he was coming to Banani to catch a bus to return home. For this, he boarded a CNG-powered autorickshaw from Satmatha in the city. As soon as the autorickshaw reached Banani intersection, he found a Pabna-bound bus and hurriedly got on it. He left the bag with the gold ornaments and money in the autorickshaw. When the Pabna-bound bus reached Majhira bus stand in Shahjahanpur upazila, he immediately got off the bus when he remembered that he had left the bag with the gold ornaments and money in the autorickshaw. He could not find the autorickshaw anymore. Later, he filed a general diary (GD) at Shahjahanpur police station in Bogra. He lost his business capital of about 25 lakh taka, including the gold ornaments, and went crazy.
Shahin said, “Before Eid, I invested all the business capital and bought that gold ornament from Bogra. If I did not get the bag back, I would have had to sit on the road. I could never have imagined that I would get back my lost bag with gold ornaments. But there are still people like Khairul in the world who are as unselfish, honest and noble as Khairul. Due to his unique honesty and unselfish mentality, I got the bag with gold ornaments back intact. I am indebted to Khairul for the rest of my life.’
Bogra Sadar Police Station OC SM Moinuddin told Prothom Alo, ‘After leaving the bag with gold ornaments in a CNG-powered autorickshaw on March 29, Pabna jewelry businessman Mohammad Shahin came to the police station at night and sought police help in finding the autorickshaw. He was advised to file a GD at Shajahanpur Police Station. Autorickshaw driver Khairul Islam came to traffic officer Alamgir and showed the bag to him and asked for help in finding the owner. After learning about the matter, Bogra Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Suman Ranjan asked me to take action. At this time, I remembered the story of jewelry businessman Shahin who had come to the police station a few days ago after losing his bag. He was contacted and asked to come to the police station with the documents including the receipt for buying the jewelry. After confirming the ownership, the bag with the gold ornaments and money was handed over to Mohammad Shahin around 12 midnight.
The OC said, everyone is impressed with Khairul’s honesty. Khairul is a young man who does not give in to poverty. He has created a unique example of honesty by returning the gold ornaments worth 25 lakh taka to the owner after collecting them.
