Boy’s notice on stolen cycle goes viral; netizens offer to replace it

KOCHI: Pavel Samith was finding it difficult to overcome the loss of his beloved sports bicycle. Ever since the Plus-One student of Thevara SH HSS received the bicycle as a birthday gift from his parents, he rode it as part of his daily journey to school. Every day, he parked it near the JLN Stadium metro station before boarding a bus to Thevara. However, the boy’s agony began on November 22, when he discovered the bicycle missing.

Though he approached the Palarivattom police, he received a lukewarm response: a lost cycle was not a big deal for them. But it was everything to the 16-year-old. When he exhausted all his options, Pavel decided to post a notice in three locations near the JLN Stadium metro station. The notice pleaded with the thieves to return his bicycle. Though a few passersby came across it, he didn’t get any response. But the notice, written in Malayalam, went viral when a jogger named Rajagopal Krishnan read it and posted it on his Facebook account.

“I got this as a birthday gift from my parents. So it is very special to me. I never thought someone would steal it. Though I approached the police, I didn’t get a positive feedback. I also learned that similar incidents were occurring in the area. So I decided to put up the notice. I hope the person who has taken my bicycle will return it,” said Pavel.

Interestingly, he didn’t want to call the person a thief. He preferred the term brother. “Sometimes, the situation might have forced them to take such a decision. I don’t want to blame them. I would be happy if they returned my bicycle,” he said about the notice.

Meanwhile, the family is getting offers to replace the lost bicycle from different parts of the state. “After the notice went viral, we have been getting many calls. Some people are asking about it, and some are offering a bicycle,” said Sini, Pavel’s mother.