Bengaluru: What began as a panic-filled train journey for a city-based tech company employee turned out to be a heart-warming reminder that honesty and duty-consciousness still runs strong in railways.Sunday evening, Karun Sharma was travelling with his family to his native place in Himachal Pradesh for a wedding. Laden with nine bags, including a red trolley carrying jewellery and cash, the family reached Yelahanka railway station. They boarded the Karnataka Express to Delhi at 8pm. The train resumed its journey and everything seemed routine until the family realised that there were only eight bags with them and the red trolley was missing.“I was completely shaken. That bag had gold jewellery and cash meant for a wedding back home. For a moment, I thought it was all gone,” Karun recalled. The missing trolley contained about 100 grams of gold jewellery worth nearly Rs 17 lakh and Rs 2 lakh in cash. Commotion broke out in the coach with the family members questioning each other and soon realising that each of them thought the other person had picked the red trolley.While the family wondered what to do, the train stopped near Rajanukunte station to allow another train to cross. That was when Karun chose to get off the train and rush back to Yelahanka station along the tracks.“By around 8.30 pm I was back at the station and started searching frantically for the bag,” he said. Unable to locate it at the place where the family had waited before boarding the train, Karun immediately alerted Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and also lodged a complaint through the Rail Madad online grievance system.RPF officials sprang into action, combing the platform. Just when Karun was beginning to lose hope, the missing red trolley was spotted, lying unattended near a family waiting at the station.After completing all necessary formalities, RPF handed over the trolley along with its contents to Karun. “I honestly didn’t expect to get it back. The RPF personnel just didn’t give up the search. Their sincerity and honesty are commendable,” he said, expressing gratitude to the railway officials.Senior RPF officers say such recoveries are becoming increasingly common due to quicker reporting and coordinated action. Data from the South Western Railway (SWR) zone shows that in 2025 alone, the Bengaluru division recovered 256 lost items worth Rs 88.3 lakh—higher than the 236 items worth Rs 84.8 lakh recovered in 2024.“We deal with such complaints regularly and recover valuables worth lakhs every year. Passengers must remain cautious, but they should also know that help is available,” a senior RPF officer said.
