A youth in Nadia’s Majhdia, who works at a local sweet shop and finds it hard to make both ends meet with a meagre daily income of Rs 120, returned a diamond studded gold ring valued at Rs 70,000 to the parents of a mentally unstable girl who had lost it while visiting the shop on Ashtami.

Kaushik Biswas, 21, found the ring on the floor on Navami while cleaning the shop. After checking its real value at a neighbouring jewellery shop, Kaushik, the son of a farm labourer, began a search for its owner.

On Tuesday afternoon while taking tea at a stall in Majhdia market, he came to know that the parents of a mentally unstable girl Rumpa Roy, 25, from Adityapur, about 3km from Majhdia, had lost their daughter’s diamond ring apparently at Majhdia market.

Getting the names of Rumpa and her mother Kajal, Kaushik visited Adityapur on Tuesday and asked around and finally located the house. Kajal had accompanied Rumpa to the shop on Ashtami (October 17).

Kaushik returned the ring to Kajal, a retired state government employee, bringing back smile to the face of Rumpa. Kaushik even refused refused a cash award of Rs 2,000 offered by the family.

“I deserve no credit ... I just found the ring lying on the floor of the shop and handed it over to its owner. Why should I take money for this,” Kaushik said.

“On Tuesday morning (October 23), I went to have tea at a stall nearby and heard some workers at the tea stall discussing about a lost ring. I heard that the ring was owned by a woman who lost it in the market and her parents had also visited some shops to check if anybody had found it. I learnt from them that the family stays in Adityapur village. So later in the afternoon I found out the house and handed over the ring to her mother,” Kaushik said.

“When saw Kaushik with the ring, I was surprised. I never imagined that a youth with a weak financial background could be so generous and honest,” said Kajal, Rumpa’s mother.

Kaushik’s mother Sikha, who works as a cook, said her son’s gesture had made her “proud”.