Happy ending: Bengal man gives ticketless goat a Rs 2,500 ticket to life

MUMBAI: A young goat which was abandoned at Masjid railway station is set to get a new lease of life. The goat, Basanti, which was sold at an auction on Thursday, will soon leave Mumbai and spend the rest of its life in a village in Bengal.

Abdul Rehman (48), who has his family home in a village in Murshidabad district, bought the goat for Rs 2,500 at the auction held at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Thursday. Rehman, a private worker with the railways, plans to take the goat to his village on August 16.

On Tuesday evening, the goat had been abandoned by a man who was caught travelling without a ticket at Masjid railway station. The man, who was caught by a ticket checker, vamoosed after abandoning the goat. The railways decided to auction the animal.

Rahman turned a bit emotional as his bid was the winning one at the auction which saw four bidders and was wrapped up within a few minutes at the terminus. “I took an instant liking to Basanti. She appears innocent and less aggressive than goats we have in our village in Bengal,” Rehman told TOI as he took possession of the goat. “She is not for slaughter. I’ve put in my savings to buy this goat and feel proud to have done that. Back home, I will build a small pen for Basanti. She will be well looked after.”

For now, Rahman will keep Basanti at a relative’s home in Colaba before he transports her to his village.

A railway official said that Basanti’s caretakers had tended to her well during her twoday sojourn during which she was tethered in the luggage section at the railway terminus. “She was fed well and we ensured that she had ample space to move about,” said a railway official who asked not to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media. “We waited overnight for the owner to come and claim her, but when nobody showed up, we auctioned the goat.”

Minutes after Rehmanwon the auction, a couple of citizens arrived to bid for Basanti. They had planned to bid above the reserve price which had been set for Rs 3,000. Kandivli resident Santosh Damle, who has been taking care of several cats, dogs and birds near his house, was keen to take Basanti home. “But I got a bit delayed and so could not take part in the auction,” said Damle. “But I’m glad it’s a happy ending for Basanti.”