Odisha man finds jewellery bag worth ₹20 lakh lying on road; returns to owner

The Sambalpur police felicitated the man who returned the bag containing gold to its original owner saying he has shown honesty of character.

Updated on: Apr 20, 2022, 24:05:57 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: A man in Odisha’s Sambalpur returned a bagful of gold ornaments worth ₹20 lakh that he found lying on road to its original owner, police said.

Tapas Chandra Swain, senior assistant working at the Regional Education Directorate, was returning home on Monday evening when he found the bag lying on the road. He was shocked to find gold ornaments inside it.

Tapas Chandra Swain, senior assistant at the Regional Education Directorate, found the bag containing gold ornaments on road while he was returning home in SRIT colony on Monday evening. When he opened it, he was shocked to find gold ornaments inside it. Swain then waited at the spot hoping that the rightful owner may turn up.

“When no one turned up, I called up a friend and the Ainthapalli police station. I then went to the police station to deposit the bag. The inspector then made a seizure list of the ornaments kept in the bag,” said Swain.

The husband-wife duo who had lost the jewellery bag meanwhile lodged a complaint with the police and were handed over their ornaments.

Sambalpur SP, B Gangadhar who on Tuesday felicitated Swain, said he has shown honesty of character. “He could have just walked away with the ornaments. As a token of appreciation for his honesty, we gave him a cash reward of ₹1,000. We hope more and more people will emulate Swain,” said Gangadhar.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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