Andheri police too had a reason to smile. “It feels good to be appreciated sometimes, since most of the times we are seen in a negative light. The foreign national will take away a positive impression of his experience with us,” officer said. (Representational image) Andheri police too had a reason to smile. “It feels good to be appreciated sometimes, since most of the times we are seen in a negative light. The foreign national will take away a positive impression of his experience with us,” officer said. (Representational image)

IT IS not often that one hears positive stories about the police, and their image suffers from various negative portrayals. However, Andheri police recently had a different story to share — one about how they won the admiration of a foreign national visiting the city. Argentine national Augustine Gonzalez (21), a student who is currently visiting India, had Andheri police to thank when they helped him recover his lost backpack, which contained his passport, camera and at least $ 1,000, Thursday.

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Gonzalez and his friend, another Argentine tourist, had taken an autorickshaw from Chakala to Andheri station Thursday at 12 noon. When they alighted and paid the autorickshaw driver, Gonzalez left his blue backpack in the backseat of the autorickshaw. His bag contained his passport, documents and medical certificates, a Go Pro camera, a Canon camera and at least $1,000. Upon realising that he had left his bag in the vehicle, Gonzalez and his friend went to Andheri police station to report the incident.

The autorickshaw in which Gonzalez left his bag was tracked down within 11 hours and all items recovered. “I want to say thank you to Andheri station police officers and team for their absolutely remarkable labour on duty, serving and helping the community,” Gonzalez wrote in his note. “Everything was recovered and no harm was caused. They acted immediately and in a completely efficient way. I am grateful after today’s episode,” he concluded in his letter.

Andheri police too had a reason to smile. “It feels good to be appreciated sometimes, since most of the times we are seen in a negative light. The foreign national will take away a positive impression of his experience with us,” said Pandit Shankar Thorat, senior police inspector at Andheri police station.

“The Argentine national also said that he will share the story on Facebook and Twitter,” he added. According to the police, they first tracked the autorickshaw’s location to Malad, which later turned out to be incorrect. Police also checked nearby rickshaw stands and railway stations in order to locate the vehicle. The rickshaw was later tracked down to Vile Parle with the help of the Regional Transport Office (RTO). Gonzalez could not be reached for comment as he had already left for Ahmedabad.

However, Narendra Moryani, a Rotary youth who was Gonzalez’s host in Mumbai and was with his two Argentine guests during the ordeal, spoke to The Indian Express. “Initially, the police were taking their time, even though we had tracked down the address of the autorickshaw driver from the RTO. Fortunately, Augustine was taking photographs with his phone and in one of them, he captured the rickshaw’s licence number. After we approached the senior inspector at the station, he sent two officers with us to the driver’s address,” said Moryani.

When the driver returned home around 10.30 pm, police recovered the bag. Upon checking, Gonzalez found that his now-expired old passport, which contained his visa papers, was missing. Police then quizzed the driver, who revealed he hid it. The driver then led the police to the spot where the old passport had been hidden. The visa papers were intact.

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