A petrol pump attendant returned a suitcase that contained gold jewels worth more than Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh (a conservative estimate) to the actual owners. The suitcase was left on the main road by two women who had alighted a bus from Bengaluru in Kushalnagar.

On the night of Thursday (Nov. 4) at 10, a bus stopped in front of the TATA Petrol Pump in Kushalnagar amidst rain. Two women got down from the bus with bags and a black suitcase. They were waiting on the road while a car stopped in front of them. In a tearing hurry to get inside the car to escape rain, the women forgot the suitcase on the road. The car left the place moments later.

As it was closing time, H.V. Somashekar came out of his petrol pump office to close the gates after a long day. The black suitcase lying on the road amidst a drizzle caught his eye. He looked around only to see the area deserted. He did not open the suitcase; instead stood near it and called the Kushalnagar Police Station.

Dy.SP Shailendra and Circle Inspector Mahesh asked ASI Manjunath and two others to go to the spot and retrieve the suitcase, taking all precautions. They did not have any idea of what the suitcase contained and brought the same to the Police Station.

As they opened the box, they could not believe their eyes. It contained gold ornaments, all brand new. Not sure of the value of the gold, they also recovered cash worth Rs. 5,000 and two costly watches. There were some new clothes in it and the Police found a slip with a phone number.

When the Police called that number and told the woman on the other side who answered the call that they were calling from Kushalnagar Police Station, the woman immediately cut the call hearing the word ‘Police’ and switched off the mobile. The Police kept on trying but the mobile was not switched on.

However, at around midnight when the Police dialled the number, the same woman picked up the call. The Police told her about the suitcase found in front of the petrol pump. The woman till then had not realised that her black suitcase was missing and only after the call it dawned on her that she had forgotten the suitcase on the road that night. 

The woman, who identified herself as Nafisa from Bengaluru, had given her daughter in marriage to a family at Kumboor near Suntikoppa and the mother and daughter had come from Bengaluru to attend a relative’s wedding in Kushalnagar. Though they wanted to come to the Police Station at midnight, the Police refused as there were procedures to be completed. They were asked to come the next morning. Accordingly, they came to the Police Station, checked the box and found all the ornaments and other valuables intact.

The mother and daughter profusely thanked the petrol pump employee Somashekar for returning the suitcase with jewels and also thanked the Police.

Somashekar told the Police that he believed in hard work and was a God-fearing man without having a desire to grab somebody else’s cash and gold. The mother-daughter duo and the Police gave Somashekar a cash award for his honesty.