Air India employee returns lost cash, passports

A dedicated Air India employee has come in for praise for restoring passports and Rs 11 lakh cash of two passengers who left it in a flight from Raipur.

Shivashankar, Air India security officer, who was carrying out security checks on AI-469 from Raipur to Delhi, had recovered a pouch carrying two Indian passports belonging to passengers Gurmet Singh Bhambra and Ravindar Bhambra, besides foreign and Indian currency of about Rs 11 lakh.

Sources at T3 Indira Gandhi International Airport said that the currency included US $11,515 as well.

The Air India official not only deposited the pouch in the "Left Luggage Unit" but also traced out contact number of the passengers who were from Raipur. The passengers were unaware of their lost property and it was only after the call from the authorities that they realised they had lost the items, they said.

AI officials said Shivshankar's name would be sent for recognition at highest level for the "selfless devotion to the duty" and "integrity of highest order".