A cab driver from Pakistan has won praise for returning the lost wallet of an Indian student.
Raechel Rose, a corporate law student at Lancaster University in the UK, was left worried when she realised she had left her her wallet and UK visa in Modassar Khadim’s taxi while she was on her way to her friend’s birthday party in Dubai.
“She got into his taxi with a friend near Burjuman on January 4,” said Rose’s mother Sindhu Biju. “Just then, they spotted some friends in another car, and decided to join them,” said Biju who was accompanying her daughter.
In a hurry to shift to her friends’ vehicle, Rose forgot to take her wallet, which contained her UK student visa as well as Rs 19,000 in different currencies.
On realising that she had misplaced her wallet, Rose along with her family approached the police for help. However, as the car’s number plate was unclear and neither had the trip started, there wasn’t much the cops could do.
“Since they had not started the journey, the driver had not started the meter. Hence, it was difficult to trace him through the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) call centre,” Biju said.
As Rose was trying to figure out a way to get her things back, Khadim had completed two other trips, when he spotted the wallet. “I opened it to check if there was any contact number. I could only see all the cards and the cash,” he said. While he reported the matter to the police, he failed to contact Rose. However, he was later contacted by the RTA.
“Finally, the RTA call centre called me back when I was finishing my duty and verified the details. I was given their number, following which I went to their house to drop the wallet,” he said.
While Rose’s father offered to give 600 Dirhams (Rs 11,500) to Khadim, he refused the money, saying she was like his “younger sister”. Following the episode, the Indian family, hailing from Kerala, wrote to the RTA, appreciating Khadim’s gesture.
