Haji Akhtar Khan, a scrap dealer from Haryana's Faridabad, was going through junk at his shop when he spotted an old box amid heaps of waste. Upon checking, Khan found 100 grams of gold jewellery valued at over Rs 15 lakh. It was like a lottery ticket he had never purchased but still won.
The story dates to January 2024 when Ashok Sharma, a resident of Faridabad, was travelling to Prayagraj with his family to attend the sacred Kumbh Mela. Fearing robbery at home while the family is away, Sharma thought of a unique way to protect family jewellery – pack it into an old box and hide it inside a sack full of junk.
The family returned safely, and life went on.
Nearly ten months later, while cleaning the house ahead of Diwali, the Sharma family sold a sack full of junk, including gold jewellery. Days later, when it was time to take out their cash and jewellery for Diwali puja, the family realised their mistake.
Sharma rushed to Khan's warehouse in search of gold jewellery but his efforts were in vain. The family was devastated. In trying to protect the jewellery from thieves, they had unknowingly given it away to a scrap dealer.
But, as they say, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Months later, Khan found the box full of gold jewellery and was instantly reminded of Sharma. In a remarkable show of honesty, Khan returned the jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh to Sharma in the presence of Additional Commissioner of Police Jitesh Malhotra.
(With inputs from Ankur Kapoor)
