BENGALURU: A videographer, who boarded the Karaikal Passenger headed to the city at Mayiladuthurai railway station, left behind an expensive camcorder when alighting at the Cantonment railway station. After dashing to the next railway station, the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) railway station in the heavy rain, he luckily found his property intact in the same compartment. Later, in a shameless gesture by two Railway Protection Force (RPF) cops to earn a good name, they coerced him to sign a letter stating that the police found it for him.
It was indeed a 90-minute nightmare for C Naveendharan on May 11. As he was hired to shoot a wedding reception at Yelahanka, he rented an expensive camera worth `2 lakh from 'Raja Studios' in his hometown. He boarded one of the general compartments located in the middle of the train at 6.20 am. Naveendharan placed the camera safely under a lower berth.
However, when alighting at the Cantonment railway station around 6.35 pm, he remembered to take the other two luggages but forgot the camcorder. Narrating his shock, he told TNIE, "The minute I realised I had forgotten, I tried all Railway Police numbers but could not get through any of them. I boarded an auto to KSR station in heavy rain as it was the train's last destination."
Speaking of his horror then, Naveendharan said, "I was very upset. I was sure someone would have walked out of the train carrying it with their luggage. I was mentally calculating how I would mobilise `2 lakh and hand it over to compensate the Studio." The reception could not be covered too, he added.
After reaching KSR station, Navaneedharan hurriedly approached the RPF cops present there for help. He said,"They told me that my train had arrived some time ago and I could go and check inside it before it was taken to the yard for maintenance shortly."
He literally ran to the train and boarded it before it was taken to the yard. "I informed the driver I was boarding the train and ran to the specific coach. To my sheer relief, I saw my bag in the hands of train sweepers who were opening it to check its contents. I told them it was mine and took possession of it," he added.
Delighted over the turn of events, he then stopped at the RPF station to inform the cops it was found.
"Immediately, two of them wrote a letter stating that they had run into the train when it was entering the yard and recovered my bag. They asked me to sign. I just did whatever they wanted to as I wanted to leave with my camera after the terrible 1.5-hour ordeal I endured," he added.