Ikram(in orange T-shirt );head constable Rameshchand Meena, second from right.

More money than constable Meena will earn in two years was returned to UP man who left a bag on Rajdhani.

When head constable Rameshchand Meena of the Railway Protection Forcewas doing a routine check of the Rajdhani that had arrived from New Delhi at 8:15 on Thursday morning, he spotted a small brown bag abandoned on an upper berth of the train's A-3 compartment. He called the coach's attendant who had no idea which passenger it might have belonged to. In the presence of the attendant, he opened up the bag, and was confronted by a very large wad of notes.

While Meena did, strictly speaking, simply follow protocol, he also conquered a range of baser human responses to do so. He marched the bag directly to the Lost Parcel Office. And 35-year-old Mohammed Ikram could not be more grateful for his exceptional probity.

Ikram, in the final bustle of an arriving train had hailed a coolie. To pay him, he pulled out the purse from his hand bag, since his wallet was also in it. Following the fast-moving porter off the train, he didn't realise he'd left the whole tidy sum he'd brought to make purchases for his family business with, behind.

Ikram only noticed the loss when he'd reached his relatives in Bhendi Bazaar. Panicked at the thought of having lost all the cash with which he was to buy fabric to take back to Bareilly, UP, he raced back to Mumbai Central, but the Rajdhani was no longer on the platform. "The money was pooled in by us four brother to buy supplies that would last for six months," said Ikram.

In the meanwhile, the RPF had checked the bag and noted that there was Rs 8 lakh in cash, as well as a cheque book with a number on it. Inspector Rakesh Kumar Arya of Mumbai Central station tried the mobile number but the call wasn't answered. He then deployed staff to the platform which the Rajdhani arrives on, keep an eye out for anyone who came to make inquiries about a bag. "Within couple of minutes, a man came looking for the bag and we handed it over to him after appropriate inquiry," said Arya.

A relieved and grateful Ikram said, "Our business would have been hugely set back. It is only due to the honesty of the RPF head constable that I could get the bag back. This has restored my faith in police."

48-year-old Meena from Rajasthan has 25 years under his belt with the RPF but began his Mumbai Central stint just last Saturday. The father of four lives alone in railway quarters, while his family is in Rajasthan for the kids' schooling. His two daughters hope to become teachers. "I have always taught my children that there will phases in life of being rich and poor, but no matter what the situation, you should always be honest," said Meena.

Meena was awarded Rs 1000 as cash prize for his honesty by the Divisional Railway Manager Mukul Jain of Western Railway.

