BENGALURU: Though auto drivers are often accused of fleecing commuters and causing them trouble, we keep hearing stories of exceptions that restore our faith in humanity.
On Monday, an autodriver rode all the way to Wilson Garden to return a passenger's purse.
An employee of an IT company, who wishes to remain anonymous, had gone shopping for groceries with her three-year-old child near Gurappanapalya.
Once she was done, she had trouble finding an auto to get home to Wilson Garden.
“Everyone demanded double the meter fare. At one point, I almost gave in, but decided to try one last time. One auto driver, Sanaullah, agreed to ply by the meter,” she recalls.
She got down near her place and took the bag of groceries inside. Not until she got a call from Sanaullah the next morning did she realise that she had left her purse in the auto.
“I remember putting my purse back in my bag after taking some money out, but it must have fallen on the seat. It was a shock and a surprise when the auto driver called me in the morning, first to realise that I had lost my purse and then to get it back,” she recalls.
The auto driver told City
Express: “I saw the purse after I reached home. I immediately knew it must belong to the
woman I dropped last. With the help of my neighbours, I found a card that had her phone number.”
Since it was late, Sanaullah told her he would return the bag in the morning.
Sanaullah started driving the autorickshaw three years ago. “Earlier, I used to paint houses which was difficult,” he said. “If people leave their belongings in our vehicle, it is our responsibility to return it to them without expecting anything,” he added.
The woman adds, “I don’t have words to thank him. The purse contained some money, debit and credit cards, my PAN card and a duplicate of my house key. It was nice to meet an honest auto driver.”