Autorickshaw driver returns Rs 4 lakh to 61-year-old heart patient

AHMEDABAD: Premlata Gehlot (61), a heart patient from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, got that sinking feeling when she lost all her life’s savings of Rs 4 lakh in an autorickshaw within an hour of landing here. But she was massively heartened when the autorickshaw driver, Nanji Nayi, found her and returned all her cash meant to pay for her bypass surgery, in Thaltej on Tuesday.

Gehlot along with her husband Dharmnarayan Gehlot reached the city on Tuesday morning at Ranip ST bus depot from where they boarded Nayi’s autorickshaw to travel to a private hospital in Thaltej. The elderly couple asked Nayi to point out to economy hotels in Thaltej and later got down for some refreshments near Thaltej. Premlata forgot the bag containing Rs 4 lakh in the autorickshaw and went to a hotel to deposit their luggage. Suddenly the couple realized that they had left the bag in the autorickshaw.

“My ailing heart almost sank. We desperately went around the area looking for the driver and later approached Vastrapur police station in the hope of recovering out our lost money,” said Premlata, who is a retired nurse.

As for Nayi, when he started cleaning his autorickshaw, he saw the bag. “My heart skipped a beat as I have never seen so much cash all my life,” he said. “I realized that the money belonged to the elderly lady whom I had dropped at the hospital. I took my son and sonin-law along with me and rushed to the Vastrapur police station. The elderly couple was already sitting there and ultimately I managed to return the money.” Nayi (52) has been driving autorickshaw for the past 25 years. Premlata said that her life would have been endangered if Nayi failed to return the cash. Doctors treating her said that the surgery was a life-saving procedure as her heart has three major blockages despite undergoing angioplasty in February. She also suffers from diabetes and neurological complications.