Unswayed by the Rs 14,500 in the wallet, the two Mumbaikars took considerable pains to first track down the owner and then return the wallet to him the very next day

Rasik Gala (34), a Dadar resident, was dejected when he realised that he had lost his wallet on Friday evening – not only did the wallet hold R14,500 in cash, it also had his personal documents such as his PAN card and driving licence, as well as his daughter’s school ID card. Assuming he had lost it all for good, Gala was in for a pleasant surprise the next day, when the wallet found its way back home, thanks to a couple of Good Samaritans.



Rasik Gala (middle), flanked by the two Good Samaritans Jay Davate (left) and Vikramsen Pawar, who tracked him down to return his wallet to him.

“When I realised that I had lost my wallet, I thought that it would be near impossible to get it back in a city like Mumbai, especially since it had so much money. However, I was proved completely wrong. This city still has honest people,” said Gala.

Around 7 pm on July 3, Gala, who is a wholesaler of readymade garments, was riding past Dadar police station on his bike when he accidentally dropped his wallet on the street. By the time he realised it was missing, he had already reached home. He even retraced his steps to try and look for the wallet, to no luck.

Incredibly, the wallet — with its contents intact — was spotted by local resident Jay Davate (34), who happened to walk by a few hours later. “Around 10 pm on Friday, I saw a few business cards fallen on the road. When I went closer to check, I noticed an open wallet with notes of Rs 500 sticking out. I gathered the business cards, put them back in the wallet and decided to trace the owner,” said Davate, who works as an HR Manager.

Inside the wallet, Davate found a student’s ID card with the phone number for a nursery school. Since it was late, no one answered his calls then. Then he spotted a driver’s licence as well, and saw the owner’s address printed on it.

The very next morning, Davate and a friend, Vikramsen Pawar (30), visited the address on the licence. “We met Gala and asked him whether he had lost anything. When he confirmed he had lost his wallet, we were sure he was the owner,” said Davate.

Gala, on the other hand, had spent a sleepless night worrying about the loss. “I was upset the whole night. My wallet contained important documents like my PAN card, along with R14,500 in cash. I was more worried about losing my documents than the money, as I would have to make innumerable rounds to police stations and government offices in order to get new ones made. Plus, I had lost many contact cards from clients, which would have caused great inconvenience to my business,” he recalled.

“I was surprised to see someone standing at my door the next day, holding my wallet. The duo asked me if all the things inside were intact. I offered them money as a token of appreciation, but they refused that as well. It’s good to see that such people still exist in our city,” Gala added gratefully.