Bangalorean auto driver Ahmad goes the extra mile

Wrong meters, abusive language, and deliberate long routes—all these and many things unpleasant embody a typical auto driver of Bengaluru.

However, an exception to this rule is V Nisar Ahmad. He’s no ordinary autorickshaw driver. Ahmad’s honesty is so rare that he is a cut above the ordinary man-on-the-street. And quite a few cuts above those who occupy positions of power and leadership. 

Ahmad is a resident of DJ Halli, who has been rewarded for his exemplary conduct.  Believing in truth and honesty, he has gone the extra mile  to ensure that the valuables that were left behind in his auto are returned to its rightful owner, little concerned about the worth of what he could so easily have pocketed.

For his good work, Ahmad has received recognition from the police department. Several certificates have been given to him, and grateful passengers who have precious possessions returned to them have offered him cash rewards.

A  week ago, Ahmad dropped a passenger from Jayanagar Fourth Block to the City Railway Station. The passenger left his mobile phone in the auto. “I heard the phone ring and answered the call, only to hear the owner of the phone say that he would be back in the city in three days. He said he would call again then to take the phone back.”

Ahmad said that the man called in three days, and the phone was returned. “He asked whether I knew the cost of the mobile. I said ‘no’, and he responded that it cost him Rs32,000. He handed me Rs500 as a reward for returning the phone,” said a gratified Ahmad, for whom honesty is reward in itself.

“I believe that if I act dishonestly, my family will suffer. I do not want the shadow of dishonest acts to fall on my wife and children, Alia and Nushebha,” Ahmad said.

Recounting another experience, Ahmad said that he once found a pair of goats unattended at Nagavara Main Road.

“I was returning home after Namaz at 5.30 am, when I saw two young goats, male and female, wandering on the road. I searched for other goats that might have been with the two, but there was no trace of any. So I took them home and kept them with me for about eight days in the hope of finding the owner. When no one turned up, I took the goats to the police commissioner’s office. I was directed to hand the animals over to Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA). The deputy commissioner of police Om Prakash gave me a certificate of appreciation after that incident."

That’s not all. Finding someone in distress, this autorickshaw driver has gone out of his way to help.

Some months ago, a newly wed woman who had boarded the train at Madras to go to Kuppam in Andra Pradesh slept on the train and found when she woke up that she had travelled past her destination. She got off at the Bangalore East Railway Station.

“The woman was in confusion. She had no money, and even her belongings were left behind in the train. She could not speak any language but Telugu. I took her to a hotel nearby and bought her breakfast. People who could understand Telugu explained that she was a resident of Kuppam. I took her to the Cantonment Railway Station, and explained the whole thing to the policemen there. They did not believe me, but the woman herself explained that she needed help.”

When even the police did not quite know how to proceed, Ahmad went ahead and tried to gather money to pay for the woman’s ticket.

“I took out a cloth from my auto and placed it on the floor near the auto stand. I requested the drivers to donate just Rs5 to buy tickets for the woman. I collected Rs500 and gave it to the police, and requested to help the woman get back home. She returned by the Brindhavan Express, and a woman constable accompanied her,” said Ahmad.

Ahmad recalls that in 2002, while taking passengers from Cantonment to Banaswadi, he found a suitcase at Cox Town. He dropped off his passengers, and on the way back, found the suitcase still lying on the road. “I took it to the police commissioner’s office. The police opened it and found a laptop, credit cards, files and Rs700."

The person to whom it belonged was a software engineer, and the police were able to establish contact with him.

Former police commissioner HT Sangliana had presented Ahmad a certificate after that incident. Many of the certificates that Ahmad has won are displayed in his auto. “Passengers feel good and trust me when they see the certificates. And I hope that other drivers too will be inspired,” said Ahmad.