Cuttack, May 6: The deputy commissioner of police today felicitated two traffic volunteers, who had recently handed over the cops about Rs 1 lakh in cash after finding it lying on a road.

"In an exemplary display of honesty, the two student traffic volunteers handed over the wad of notes," deputy commissioner of police Sanjeev Arora said.

The two teenaged girls, Sujata Panda and Rashmita Behera - both 19 years old, were on traffic duty at Madhupatna Square on Thursday when they noticed the bundle of notes lying on the road. They handed over the cash to the police after failing to trace the person, who had lost it.

Both Sujata and Rashmita are undergraduate students at J.K.B.K. College. Without even counting the money, they rushed to the nearby city traffic tower and handed over the notes hoping that it would reach the rightful owner. "Both of them came to me around 11am on Thursday. They handed over the bundle of Rs 2,000 currency notes to me, saying that they had found it lying on the road. All that they wanted was to ensure that the money reached the person to whom it belonged," said assistant commissioner of police (Cuttack) Pradeep Kumar Dalai.

The traffic volunteers suspect that the cash might have had fallen out of the pocket of some motorcycle-borne person, who was travelling towards Madhupatna from the Samrat Hall side.

"The satisfaction and appreciation I received for handing over the cash to the police are much more valuable than any amount of money," said Sujata.

Her father, who works at a cold drink company at Jagatpur, struggles to eke out a living for a family of six, including four daughters.

"As I come from a poor family, I know the value of money and can feel the sufferings of the person, who loses it," said Rashmita, whose father is a helper in a social welfare organisation and mother makes paper packets to help him running the family of five, including three daughters.

Dalai said all the nearby police stations were informed about the cash, so that the person, who had lost it, could come over to any of the police stations and claim the money showing necessary proof.

"The money will be handed over to the claimant only after proper verification. Till then, Madhupatna police station will keep the cash. A station diary has been registered in this connection," Dalai said.