Hyderabad, India – Taxi Driver Returns ₹7 Lakh Left by Tourist in Backseat, Becomes Symbol of Honesty

In an age when trust is often in short supply, Mohammed Irfan, a 48-year-old cab driver from Hyderabad, proved that integrity still lives on India’s roads.

Last Friday evening, Irfan had just dropped off a passenger—a foreign tourist from Germany—at a hotel in Banjara Hills. It was a routine fare. They’d chatted briefly about Hyderabad’s traffic and biryani, then the tourist stepped out, thanked him, and disappeared into the lobby.

Minutes later, as Irfan prepared to pick up his next customer, he glanced in the back seat—and froze.

“There was a black travel pouch just lying there. I opened it a little and saw bundles of ₹2,000 notes. My hands started shaking.”

Inside the pouch was ₹7,00,000 in cash, along with a passport, a few credit cards, and a handwritten itinerary. There was no phone number, no local contact.

For most people, this might have been an unexpected windfall. But for Irfan, there was only one option.

“I knew this was someone’s life savings. Maybe for their whole trip. I couldn’t sleep until I gave it back.”

Irfan immediately drove back to the hotel—but the guest was nowhere to be found. Hotel staff refused to provide information without a police presence. So Irfan went to the nearest station in Panjagutta, filed a report, and handed over the pouch to the officers on duty.

By the next morning, the tourist—Johann Muller—returned to the hotel in a panic, only to be told that someone had turned everything in.

“I was in complete shock,” Johann told reporters. “In my country, even the police would struggle to track something like this. I thought it was gone forever.”

Later that day, at the police station, Johann met Irfan. The reunion was captured on video: Johann hugging Irfan tightly, thanking him in broken Hindi, and offering a reward—which Irfan politely declined.

“I have two daughters. I want to set an example they’ll be proud of.”

Since the story was picked up by a local journalist and shared on Twitter, Irfan has become a minor celebrity in Hyderabad. His photo has been featured on local news channels, and several customers have gone out of their way to book rides with him through word-of-mouth.

The Hyderabad Traffic Police awarded Irfan a certificate of commendation and ₹10,000 for his honesty, and a local NGO has offered to cover one year of school fees for both of his daughters.

“I didn’t do anything special,” Irfan insists. “I just did what was right.”

But online, he’s being called “Hyderabad’s most honest driver”—a symbol of decency in a world full of shortcuts.