Honest traffic policeman returns wallet with Rs 35,000 and $300, trends on Facebook

Not only did sub-inspector Madan Singh return the man’s wallet but he also refused to accept a reward of Rs 5,000 offered by the businessman to whom the wallet belonged.

A 54-year-old Delhi police sub-inspector trended on the social media on Monday, after an east Delhi businessmen took to Facebook to share the story of how the cop returned his missing wallet with Rs 50,000 cash.

Sub inspector Madan Singh spotted a cyclist picking up the wallet near Sarai Kale Khan. He took it under his custody. Called up the owner of the wallet with the help of the phone number given in a visiting card and returned it to him. (HT Photo)

Not only did sub-inspector Madan Singh return the man’s wallet but he also refused to accept a reward of Rs 5,000. Till Monday evening, the Facebook post had been shared over 1,500 times, with over 1,000 comments lauding Singh for his honesty.

On the morning of January 7, at around 9.30am Jagreet Singh lost his wallet near the Nizamuddin bridge in Sarai Kale Khan. Jagreet was returning to his Preet Vihar residence from Defence Colony when his car broke down. “I had to push my car to start it. My wallet must have slipped then. I reached home at around 10.30 and realised my wallet was missing.”

Traffic cop Madan Singh spotted a cyclist picking a wallet from the road. Singh chased the cyclist and asked him to hand over the wallet. “There was a lot of money, foreign currency, ATM cards, driving licence and visiting cards. It did not belong to that cyclist. I spotted the visiting card and called the man,” said Singh.

An hour later when Jagreet met Singh and got his wallet back, he was surprised to see the cash intact. He checked his wallet and found that Singh had only checked the driving licence. Not a single rupee was missing. “It is rare to find an honest man such as Singh. I even offered him Rs 5,000 for his honesty but he refused saying he was only doing his duty. This was a story I had to share to the world. I did not know it would go viral. Singh was even shy to pose for a photograph but I convinced him.”

Singh boss, DCP (traffic) DK Gupta said,” We appreciate Singh’s honest efforts. He has made us proud. We will recommend a suitable reward for him so that others get inspiration from his story.”

Singh, a native of Alwar, lives in Delhi with his wife and two sons, a Delhi University student and another who is preparing for civil services examination.