Traffic cop reunites lost octogenarian with family

Praveen Kumar | NT

The traffic policemen have a poor image in the minds of the public, thanks to their constant run-ins with motorists. However, a kind gesture by a traffic police constable, attached to the Rajajinagar traffic police station, is evoking positive vibes on social media.

The traffic constable, Nagappa, helped a lost senior citizen reunite with his family that stays at the other end of the city. The picture of him along with the senior citizen was shared by the official twitter handle of the Rajajinagar traffic police, and is winning praise from the netizens.

Nagappa was manning the traffic at Bashyam Circle junction near the Canara Café hotel on Saturday afternoon at around 1 pm. He happened to see an old man who seemed lost and was crying. When Nagappa tried to enquire with him about his home, he did not get any satisfactory reply. The person was unable to remember anything.

The constable took him to a nearby medical shop, where he was provided food and water. Some passersby also joined Nagappa in trying to find out the identity of the man.

Nagappa then checked his pocket and found a piece of paper which had the details of his three sons along with their mobile phone numbers. “Nagappa kept calling and the aged man’s second son finally answered. The traffic constable found out that the aged man is 80-yearold Basanna, a resident of Anjanapura near Kanakapura and has travelled almost 40 kilometres from his house to Rajajinagar area. The senior citizen did not know how he came to Rajajinagar from such a long distance. The son told the constable that his father was missing for one whole day,” said an officer attached to the Rajajiangar traffic police station.

The constable then sent the picture of the aged man to his son’s mobile phone to confirm that he was his father. After the confirmation, the constable hired an autorickshaw and instructed the driver to safely drop the aged man to his residence and to call from the spot.

“The son thanked Nagappa for helping them to reunite with his father. Going by the piece of paper with information of the three sons, it appears that the 80-year-old keeps going out of the house and gets lost,” the officer added. He is reportedly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease - a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills.