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A few days ago, I travelled on an Indian train.

Near my seat there was a guy to whom I have given my book, but forgot to get it back. There is an important paper inside that book which I need.

How can I find his name and contact number?

Even the name will work as I will search for him on Facebook.

It's entirely my fault - he asked me to wake him up and take it from him and I completely forgot.

JonathanReez
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rachita
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    Have you tried contacting the railways? – Vagish Aug 12 '14 at 08:46
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    Phone the train company and tell them to pass your details to that person. – Fattie Aug 12 '14 at 08:53
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    Do they even ask for contact details? I traveled in a coach, although it was quite a few times, and they never asked my details. I didn't book in advance either. – AKS Aug 12 '14 at 16:03
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    If you are truly desperate, a social media campaign has been known to work. – DJClayworth Aug 12 '14 at 17:53
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    @AyeshK my thought exactly. Busses and trains most all over the world don't register names and contact details of passengers, let alone link those with seating assignments. International trains and charters are the only ones I've seen that do it, and I seriously doubt they keep the data after the trip is over. – jwenting Aug 13 '14 at 10:51
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    @DJClayworth: I wish people wouldn't do that. It's an excellent way for bad people to find e.g. victims of domestic abuse. – You Aug 16 '14 at 22:37

5 Answers5

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Your ONLY path here is to ask the company you travelled with. They'll be the only one with his details, IF you booked under your names for the trip.

Even then, they likely won't give you his name for privacy reasons. However, if you impress upon them the gravity of the situation, they might be prepared to contact him on your behalf and see if he's willing to have his contact details shared with you.

Mark Mayo
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Contact the coach company: the man you lent the book to might have handed it in as lost property at the end of his journey. It's unlikely that they'll be willing to give you his details because that would be a violation of his privacy. Would they even know who he was? Do they have your details, for example? Would you have any way of telling them which of the however-many people on the bus you're trying to contact? If you can pin down a specific person, you might be able to convince the company to give him your details.

It's also possible that he handed it in as lost property either at the bus station where he got off or to the police. You could try contacting bus and police stations on the rest of your coach's route.

Does the important document that you've lost identify you? If so, it's possible that he will find the document, realise its importance and try to find you to give it back.

Otherwise, as suggested in other answers and comments, newspaper ads and social media might help.

But do bear in mind that all of these ideas are long-shots.

David Richerby
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    In India Railways is not run by companies but by the goverment itself. The railways will not give you info unless you are approached by the police. – Kolappan N Sep 25 '14 at 04:45
  • @kolappankols The question asks about a coach. To me (British English), that means a bus, not a train. – David Richerby Sep 25 '14 at 07:12
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    @DavidRicherby I understand. In India coach refers to train coaches.As you see the comments are refering to the railways.Refer the edit history the user have clearly explained that it was on a train. Also the tags denote Indian Railways – Kolappan N Sep 25 '14 at 07:14
  • @kolappankols Thanks for the clarification. It's unfortunate that somebody edited the question to remove that information. In the UK, we do refer to the carriages of a train as coaches but we'd never say "I travelled on a coach" to mean "I travelled on a train" rather than "I travelled on a long-distance bus." – David Richerby Sep 25 '14 at 07:56
  • @DavidRicherby It's Okay and thanks for the info about UK – Kolappan N Sep 25 '14 at 08:14
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    I think the key point here is the lost property idea, not whether it was a bus or a train. Report the book as lost, and if it has not already been turned in, leave your name and contact information with the lost property office. – Patricia Shanahan Apr 16 '17 at 18:06
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Go to the same coach, on the same day of the week, at the same time. There's a very good chance he uses it to commute. You'll probably see him again.

quemeful
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In India Government store the name and other detail only if coach is reserved and not for general people.

If you paid for a reserve seat a call to Rail department will certainly help you. If it was general coach then you need to take help of Newspaper by publish the ads.

Anirudha Gupta
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Try putting a personal ad in local newspapers that are sold in the towns of origin and destination for your journey. Maybe you could include TinyURL links (or equivalent) to your Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

It's a long shot, but it may be worth trying if the paper is important enough.

Erik Kowal
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