A toy story: Indian Army man reunites toy lost in train with 19-month-old

PTI, Jan 6, 2023, 8:39 PM IST

Representative Image (Source: Pexels)

Mumbai: Some bonds are not meant to be broken. Or not just yet.

All of 19 months, Adnan had already had one such bond with his toy train. He had his first heartbreak – probably — when he lost the toy on a train back home. But unlike most stories, this was not to end with a sundering.

An Indian Army Havaldar, a fellow passenger, had seen the child’s antics with the toy throughout their journey. When he saw that the child had forgotten his toy behind, he took it upon himself to reunite it with him, and in his pursuit, sent the mammoth railway machinery into motion.

On January 3, Vibhutibhushan Pattnaik was travelling in the same coach of the Secunderabad-Agartala Express as were Adnan and his family.

”I saw him play with the toy throughout the journey. In fact, when some technicians of the train hid the toy while playing with him, he started crying loudly. When I saw that he had let the toy behind, I had to do something,” Pattnaik told PTI.

After Adnan’s family deboarded at Kishanganj, Pattnaik immediately contacted the rail helpline — 139 – Rail Madad — and informed them about the toy, hoping that Railways’ system would work for the child.

”Usually these helplines are for emergencies and to deal with cases where people have lost important items. However, I was hopeful,” said Pattnaik, who did not have much details about Adnan, except his name and that the family of three had boarded the train from Secunderabad.

However, Railways traced the location of the train on January 4, and brought the toy back to the child. According to an official, locating the contact details was a tough task as the ticket was purchased through the reservation counter in Secunderabad.

A team was put on the task to identify the reservation slip filled before reservation. After a thorough search, the requisition slip was identified, and the contact details were traced. Names of Adnan’s parents were found through a reservation chart and they were identified as Mohit Razaa and Nasreen Begum from Qazi Village of Uttar Dinajpur District, 20 Km away from Aluabari Railway Station.

A railway team went to his home and delivered the toy.

”My 19-month-old child had forgotten his favourite toy truck in the train, which was very close to his heart. I had thought nobody would put any effort just for a toy. So I didn’t register any complaint even when I was also feeling bad for my child,” said Razaa, who was overwhelmed with emotions.

He thanked Pattanaik for showing heart and also the Railway Minister and the rail system for helping the good samaritan to use its resources for a young child. ”I feel happy just thinking that the toy is with Adnan again. I wouldn’t have had peace of mind if I had just left it there,” said Pattnaik.