From Lost to Found: How Southern Railways Recovered a Wristwatch Overnight
Chennai, 18th October 2025: In a remarkable display of efficiency and dedication, Southern Railways and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) recently helped a passenger recover a forgotten wristwatch in under two hours—turning a minor mishap into a social media sensation.
Spine surgeon Dr. Guru Bruno shared his experience on Twitter, narrating how he accidentally left his wristwatch in the restroom while traveling on the Vande Bharat Express. “I reached Egmore at 11 pm, got home, and realized I had left my watch in the restroom,” he tweeted.
Within minutes, he lodged a complaint on the RailMadad website, providing his PNR, coach, seat details, and a brief description. By 12:31 am, he received a confirmation call from the railway helpline, followed by an SMS. By 12:49 am, the RPF contacted him, noting that the train had already gone to the yard and asked him to check there.
The chain of efficient action continued:
By 1:12 am, he received WhatsApp photos of his watch.
At 1:13 am, RPF called again to confirm it was indeed his.
Dr. Bruno praised the teamwork behind the recovery: “Within 40 minutes of my complaint, a dozen people worked—someone registered the complaint, informed the RPF, checked the platform, coordinated with the yard, retrieved the watch, photographed it, and confirmed everything back to me. This was not even a ‘complaint’; it was my mistake, yet the system worked flawlessly.”
The next morning, Dr. Bruno visited the station, submitted a request with ticket and Aadhaar copies, and received his watch after signing the register.
His tweet resonated widely, garnering over 28,000 views within an hour and drawing praise from netizens. Induja Ragunathan commented, “This is too good to hear. Hope they act similarly for complaints about unreserved passengers in reserved compartments, harassment complaints, etc.” Another user, Nare Yuvaraj, shared a similar experience where RPF in Vizag tracked a stolen mobile within an hour.
I traveled in Vande Bharat yesterday
Reached Egmore at 11 pm
Reached Home and realised that I kept by Wrist Watch in the Rest Room and forgot to take it back12:28 am Lodged a Complaint in Railmadad Website : Gave my PNR Number, Coach and Seat details and written a brief… pic.twitter.com/wnrtR1XQEp
— 𝕲𝖚𝖗𝖚 𝕭𝖗𝖚𝖓𝖔 🇮🇳 (@spinesurgeon) October 18, 2025
The incident highlights not only the efficiency of Southern Railways and RPF but also the potential of digital complaint systems like RailMadad in ensuring passenger safety and prompt grievance redressal.
As Dr. Bruno concluded, the moral of the story is simple: “Keep calm and trust the government.”
