it-s-viral

Updated: Jun 14, 2019 14:15 IST

Asif Iqbal Abdul Gaffar Pathan, a Mumbai cab driver, is the Internet’s newest hero whom netizens can’t stop praising. Pathan’s story was shared by Twitter user Papa Sierra, who, through a series of tweets narrated his experience involving Pathan and a missing wallet.

In his first tweet, addressed to the cab company Pathan works for, Sierra wrote that he needs to report an incident that he faced with one of their drivers.

Hey @Olacabs I need to report an incident I faced with one of your driver by the name Asif Iqbal Abdul Gaffar Pathan. He drives a mini Hyundai Xcent. — PAPA SIERRA (@darthsierra) June 12, 2019

In the following tweets, Sierra wrote that he, along with his wife, boarded Pathan’s cab from his residence to visit a pub to celebrate his birthday. He explained how they ended up chatting about Mumbai’s first rain after he overheard Pathan telling his wife - over a call - to not let his kids out while it’s pouring. Eventually, Sierra reached his destination and thanked the driver for his service. Almost an hour after getting down from the cab Sierra realised that his wallet was missing.

Me & my wife booked a cab from our residence to Hiranandani Powai on 10th June 2019 in the evening. We were headed to a pub to bring in my birthday. It started raining quite heavily on our way there. — PAPA SIERRA (@darthsierra) June 12, 2019

And we overheard him talking to his wife telling her to not let the kids out in the rain. We also chatted a bit about how 1st rains are bad for bikes & that people should ride safely. Patiently negotiating with traffic we reached our destination — PAPA SIERRA (@darthsierra) June 12, 2019

We thanked him & proceeded to meet our friends. About an hr into the evening I realised I don't have my wallet. I freaked out & thought maybe I dropped it while getting out of the cab so went looking. Then called him to check — PAPA SIERRA (@darthsierra) June 12, 2019

A “freaked out” Sierra decided to call Pathan. The driver, in turn, assured him that the wallet was with him and that he would return it on his way home. A little after midnight, Pathan came back to return the wallet.

He immediately mentioned he has it safely with him & will had it to me on his way back home. And around 12:30 am on the 11th June 2019 he arrived. I was like cool my birthday isn't ruined considering all the hassle of reporting lost cards, licence, pan card & stuff — PAPA SIERRA (@darthsierra) June 12, 2019

If you think this is where the story ends, then you are in for a surprise. In further tweets, Sierra explained that after handing him the wallet and wishing him happy birthday, Pathan revealed that it’s his birthday too. Pathan also told him that his family was waiting for him to return home to celebrate the occasion.

But the biggest surprise was what I got to know when he arrived to hand over my wallet. He gave it to me & wished me happy birthday. I thanked him & the he told me it's his birthday as well!!! CAN YOU IMAGINE THE COINCIDENCE!!! — PAPA SIERRA (@darthsierra) June 12, 2019

Not just the story, Sierra also tweeted an image of Pathan captioned - “good Samaritan”.

He then told me his family is waiting for him at home to cut a cake. What a day it was!!



Here is a smiley picture of this good Samaritan at the end of a hard day at work & a loving family man! These are the people who make Bombay what it is! pic.twitter.com/zxNKHJQP2J — PAPA SIERRA (@darthsierra) June 12, 2019

He finally concluded the thread with a tweet that reads, “We always come to this platform with our grievances with brands. Let’s spread some of the positive experiences as well. So that in some ways it gets paid forward. Peace!”

Netizens were touched by Pathan’s honesty and showered heaps of praise on the thread. A few also asked the cab service provider to reward the driver for his honesty. Here’s how the overwhelmed tweeple reacted:

This is indeed a noble gesture — Yeti Ji (@DefeatNazis) June 13, 2019

What a way to share the experience with little bit of darkness n get enlightened in the climax 😂😂

I too met few amazing driver's way back in Chennai n Andhra

pls hire them without Ola service they can make more

N belated birthday wishes bro — ajithkanth009 (@ajithkanth009) June 12, 2019

Seriously... From the sinking feeling to experiencing releif... — sameera kapoor (@sameerakapoor) June 12, 2019

Well done, bhai! Everyday heroes 🙏🏼 — Aditya (@vizagobelix) June 12, 2019

I would like to think that there are more people like Asif Iqbal in the world. It’s just that we don’t celebrate them enough and complain their absence too much! — Mukesh Gupta (@rmukeshgupta) June 12, 2019

Kindly reward him for his honesty @ola_supports @Olacabs — Vêñúgøpäl Dågâ (@its_me_venu) June 12, 2019

What do you think of Pathan’s gesture?