Tech-savvy RPF reunites passenger with lost bag

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Dadar station on Sunday took a welcome break from staid old paperwork and innovatively used technology to re-unite a passenger with his lost bag.

A passenger on the 12051 Jan Shatabdi Express, Amit Mhapuskar, absent-mindedly walked away from the baggage scanner at platform number 7 of Dadar station leaving behind one bag containing valuables worth Rs 65,000. This was around 5.25 am and by the time Mhapuskar realised his error and called up a relative asking the latter to inform the RPF as the train had left on its way to Madgaon in Goa.

A quick scan of the CCTV footage of the baggage scanner showed that another passenger, Azghar Ali, had accidentally picked up Mhapuskar's bag while collecting his own luggage from the scanning machine behind Mhapuskar. CCTV images showed that Ali was a passenger on the same train but in a different coach, said an RPF officer.

Instead of the routine procedure of paperwork that accompanies such cases — and the subsequent time delay and inconvenience to passengers — the RPF decided to do something different. The RPF officers at Dadar took a grab of Ali from the CCTV footage and texted Mhapuskar through WhatsApp along with Ali's seat details. Mhapuskar's relative, who had arrived at the station to inform the RPF about the misplaced bag, had provided Mhapuskar's cellphone number.

"Mhapuskar and Ali met on the running train and the bag was returned. The passenger appreciated the work done by the RPF and the innovative use of social media to ensure he recovered his bag without any inconvenience," said a railway official.