Navi Mumbai
For Kalamboli-based coaching class owner, Pradeep Pillai (36) and his family, it was an overwhelming experience to get back their lost gold chains without running from pillar to post. Thanks to Navi Mumbai constable Sudhakar Patil.
On the eve of Dussehra, Pillai had purchased two gold chains - one for his three-year-old daughter and another for his three-year-old niece. He was driving back home with his friend who got down at Karavli chowk at around 10.30pm.
After reaching home, Pillai realised that the pouch containing the chains, kept on the back seat, was missing. He felt it might have fallen down when his friend got down. He went back to the spot, but couldn’t find it. Later, he registered a missing complaint with the Kalamboli police station.
“The officer in charge accompanied me to the spot assured that since there are CCTV cameras, they will scan the footage. To my surprise, we didn’t have to go through that exercise. The next day I received a call from the jewelery shop that they had found the chain. All this while I was anxious about it and suddenly, I got this call,” Pillai said.
It was here where Police Naik Sudhakar Patil walked into the picture. Attached to Police Headquarters at Kalamboli, Patil was posted at Khandeshwar Talav on immersion bandobast.
{{/usCountry}}It was here where Police Naik Sudhakar Patil walked into the picture. Attached to Police Headquarters at Kalamboli, Patil was posted at Khandeshwar Talav on immersion bandobast.
{{/usCountry}}On his way home for dinner, Patil got stuck in a traffic jam at the Karavli chowk. The vehicles were moving at snail’s pace.
“I was stuck in the jam on my bike when I saw this pouch. Due to the dust on the road, it looked quite old. Nevertheless, I picked it up and waved the pouch in public asking if it belonged to anyone. Since no one answered, I took it home. When I opened it only to find the two gold chains,” Patil said.
His family felt sad that someone’s Dusshera had been lost and the person must be frantically searching for it. “Name of the jeweler - Maa Mansa- was written on the pouch. The next day I took it to the jeweler,” Patil recalled.
The next morning, he found the jeweler and confirmed that the chains were purchased from that shop.
“The jeweler told me that the customer was very upset and had returned to the shop to check if he had left the pouch behind. He then made the call to the owner and informed him about the recovery,” Patil added.
Kalamboli’s senior inspector asked Patil and Pillai’s family to come to the police station on the day of Dusshera. Besides handing over the chains to the rightful owner Patil too was felicitated. “The family were in tears and I could see the joy in their eyes and that was the biggest satisfaction for me,” Patil added.