Auto driver returns over 200 navy I-cards left behind in his vehicle

Autorickshaw driver Shafiqul Hasan's quick thinking not only helped restore more than 200 identity cards belonging to the Indian navy but also prevented the I-cards from landing in wrong hands.

Autorickshaw driver Shafiqul Hasan's quick thinking not only helped restore more than 200 identity cards belonging to the Indian navy but also prevented the I-cards from landing in wrong hands.

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Hasan had reached his Trilokpuri house after a day's work on Wednesday night when he noticed a packet at the back of his three-wheeler.

"Around 10pm, as I was parking my auto I noticed the packet at the back. I opened it and found several I-cards. A numbers of passengers had boarded my auto that day and I was unable to recall who had left it," said Hasan.

A confused Hasan then contacted a local NGO called Public Protection Movement Organisation. The NGO then contacted officials in the Indian Naval Service (INS) and local police. On Thursday evening, with the help of Mayur Vihar police, the packet with 237 identity cards was handed over to INS.

Zishan Haider, the founder of the NGO, said, "I looked for their number and called them. Initially, they denied that the I-cards belonged to the navy but later a representative came to claim the bag."

An INS representative told the police that those were sample cards and an FIR had been filed at a Noida police station on Tuesday.

"We checked with Noida police and they confirmed the FIR. Two INS officers had boarded Hasan's auto on Tuesday and forgot their packet," a senior police officer said.

Police said the I-cards, with code number and ranks of officers, could have been misused by anti-social elements had it landed in the wrong hands.