GOOD SAMARITAN: Wajid Pasha

BENGALURU: On October 18, an autorickshaw driver in the city went out of his way to return the phone of a passenger who forgot it in his vehicle.

Around 9.30pm on Friday, Aprajita Gaurav, 23, hailed an auto from Indiranagar - where she had a party with colleagues - to reach her MG Road office. Aprajita, who works at an IT firm, had forgotten her iPhone 7 Plus in the auto. "The very thought it made me sad as it was a gift from my mother," Aprajita told TOI .

"I tried calling my number from the office reception but the calls went unanswered. Later, I took the office cab and reached my home in Sanjaynagar," she said.

However, a pleasant surprise awaited her. Auto driver Wajid Pasha, 45, who had driven till Commercial Street after dropping Aprajita, found the phone in the back seat. "It had started raining heavily and I was trying to cover the seats. It was then that I found the phone. But it was switched off. I immediately drove back to MG Road in a friend's auto as rainwater had entered the engine of my vehicle," he added.

It was around 11pm when Wajid reached Aprajita's office. When the secu rity guard informed him that the employee had already left, Wajid decided to meet her and hand over the phone personally.

Both Aprajita and her father Kumar Birendra Tiwari were elated to receive Wajid, who arrived with the iPhone. "The incident has restored my faith in humanity. I take auto rides frequently. In fact, this is the second time I had left my phone after the ride. I wan't lucky during the first time," said Aprajita.

Tiwari said, "The resale value of the phone is around Rs 35,000. I really appreciate honest people like Wajid who travelled at least 12km to return my daughter's phone, that too at 11.30pm braving the rain. It is rare to find such honest people."

