Chennai sanitation worker finds ₹45L gold, chooses honesty

India Jan 13, 2026

S Padma, a Chennai sanitation worker, stumbled upon a bag with gold jewelry worth ₹45 lakh after her shift near Mupathu Amman Koil in T Nagar.
Instead of keeping it, she told her supervisors and handed everything over to the police.

Why this matters

Padma's honesty helped reunite the lost gold with its owner—no drama, just doing what's right.
Turns out, integrity runs in her family: during the COVID-19 lockdown, her husband Subramani also returned ₹1.5 lakh he found at Marina Beach.
The city's Chief Minister even recognized Padma's actions with a ₹1 lakh reward, showing that genuine acts of kindness and honesty still get noticed—and celebrated—in today's world.