Wrapped in a purse, autodriver leaves his stamp of integrity

Palanpur: Amid news of chicanery and all-round moral turpitude, a trickle of good news, like honesty, ushers in hope — of good over evil. So it did, when an auto-rickshaw driver in Modasa retuned a purse to a passenger who had left it in his auto — even when it took him two months to trace the owner.
The incident happened before the lockdown took effect, recalls Salim Suthar alias Raja, a resident of Anjuman society in Modasa, when some college girl left behind her purse after travelling in his auto. Unmindful of it, Salim went on dropping passengers.
While he was waiting for more passengers, two college girls boarded the rickshaw and handed him the ladies purse lying in the back seat. Assessing by its looks, the girls told Salim that it must be of some college girl. But before he could act on his hunches, lockdown happened, followed by Ramzan. But even amid all the uncertainty and financial hardship, Salim held on to the bag to return it to the rightful owner.
“When lockdown eased, I went to the commerce college, which was still closed. I kept visiting the college till I could meet the principal and teachers, who gave me her name and mobile number,” said Salim, adding that the girl was a second year commerce student living at a village near Bayad, 40 km away from Modasa.
After calling her on the given number, Salim succeeded in contacting the girl and asked her to collect her belonging. The girl was overjoyed, said Salim.
However, she couldn’t come personally to collect it owing to ill health and instead an uncle received the purse on her behalf. “After proper identification, I returned the purse and am now light hearted as it was big burden on my soul,” said the humble man, who didn’t seek a prize for his priceless efforts.