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Sub-Inspector Umar Khan who returned the bag containing Rs6.5 million found by him after it fell from the security vehicle of a bank said he was a contented man as his salary was enough to feed his family comprising his wife and four children.

“The only thing that came to my mind was how the security guards of the bank would suffer in case the bag was misplaced. I returned it immediately to the bank to save them from botheration,” said Umar Khan when asked whether he had thought to keep the bag instead of returning it to the bank.

Sub-Inspector Umar Khan, a ticketing officer of the Peshawar Traffic Police, was performing duty at the Rampura Gate in Peshawar city when the bank’s security vehicle drove past the Chowk Yadgar and a bag fell from it.

Umar Khan and some other people shouted to the driver, but he and others on board the security vehicle couldn’t hear them.

“I rushed forward and picked up the bag. At first I thought that it could be a bomb, but I dispelled the thought soon as it had fallen from a bank’s security vehicle,” he recalled.

Umar Khan called Sub-Inspector Tilawat Shah for help and both found out that the bag contained Rs6.5 million. They went to the bank and handed over the bag to the manager. They collected a receipt from the bank manager and informed their bosses in the police about the incident.

Both the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ijaz Ahmad and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic Faisal Shehzad rewarded Umar Khan with Rs2,000 cash and also gave him commendation certificates. The traders at the Rampura Gate gave him Rs5,000 as reward for his honesty.

“The CCPO and I rewarded Umar Khan. I also rewarded SI Tilawat Shah who was called by Umar Khan for help after he found the bag,” SSP Traffic Faisal Shehzad told The News.

Rampura Gate is a busy trade centre where thousands of people are usually present. Anyone could have taken away the bag had Umar Khan not picked it up.

It was learnt that an internal inquiry had been ordered to ascertain as to how the bag full of cash dropped from a protected vehicle that transfers huge amount of cash from one bank to another on a daily basis. The purpose of inquiry, the source added, was to find out whether it was due to negligence or had other motives.

The News – 11 August 2014