Engineer returns Rs 1.40 lakh to man who lost it

Kendrapara (Odisha), Apr 12: A 26-year-old engineer from Kendrapara whose monthly earning is about Rs 20,000 has set an example by returning Rs 1.40 lakh to a man who had lost it, for which he was felicitated by his village. “Honesty is not dead.

The act of honesty for which I got back the money leads me to believe that there are still good souls in the world. The boy gave me back the money which I was carrying for treatment of my ailing mother-in-law, who is suffering from kidney ailments", said Shatrughna Moharana, a petty shop owner in Niali area of Cuttack district.

"Rs 1.4 lakh was a huge sum for me. With great difficulty, I had arranged the sum from personal savings and partly from borrowing. On March 26, I lost the bag carrying the cash near sector-9 CDA in Cuttack", Moharana said.

Annada Prasana Ojha, a local resident of Derabish in Kendrapara district and posted as an engineer with a Cement Company in Cuttack, said he was on a motor bike and spotted the bag containing money lying unattended on the road. "I was little scared initially but decided to wait with the hope to return it to its claimant.

I stayed back for a half-an-hour but nobody turned up. Later I unzipped the bag and found hundred currency notes of Rs 1,000 denomination and 40 notes of Rs 500 denomination. While searching the bag, I found a bundle of prescriptions and medical bills.

I could locate the man who had lost the money from one of the cell phone numbers from a medical bill, Ojha, who draws a monthly salary of Rs 22,000 from the private company said.

"The owner of the money bag broke down and sobbed like a child after I handed over the money. He blessed me and wished me success in life. That was worth more than the wads of currency notes", he concluded.

Overwhelmed over his honesty, locals organised a function at Derabish to felicitate the Good Samaritan. “He was not in favour of this felicitation function. But we decided to felicitate him so that others could draw inspiration from him", said Rabindra Samal, who presided over the function.

PTI