A nine-year-old Adam Raihan who chased down the man who stole his Hercules bicycle is being hailed a hero in his village at Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode. His dream had come true when his father Raheed bought him the costly cycle as a gift. He took good care of it. However, one morning when he came out of Madrassa class, he found his cycle missing. He noticed that the chain which had fastened his cycle to those of his friends was broken. Shocked, he immediately informed the madrasa authorities.

However, while Ustad was telephoning Raihan's father and briefing him about the incident, Raihan felt that the chances of recovering it was getting far and out of reach. His father Rasheed thought of checking the CCTV footage later. But Raihan had other plans. He ventured into the street and scanned its lengths, in vain. He then approached a scrap dealer to know if anyone had brought a bicycle. The answer was in the negative. He further walked afar to distant areas in the town and again dropped by at another scrap shop. Nothing, his heart sank.

Meanwhile, the prolonged delay in Raihan's return caused panic in the house. "Bewildered, my wife called me and said that the boy wasn't home yet. So I rushed to the spot," Rasheed said. Raihan was almost a kilometre away from his madrasa and had spent around two hours scouting the streets and alleys until, suddenly, he spotted a migrant labourer, pedalling a bicycle. He was sure that it was his cycle and instantly ran after it and clung to it. The thief snapped at him and then tried to speed away. But Raihan didn't give up. He pushed the cycle hard, the rider lost balance and fell down. Onlookers gathered and subdued the culprit.

This was when Rasheed arrived at the spot. "Soon, the police came and took away the thief. He was so attached to the bicycle that he refused to give up," Rasheed said.

Meanwhile, the daring act of Raihan is being widely appreciated. AMUP school in Puthurmadam, Pantheerankaavu, where he studies, felicitated him amid its ongoing school festival.  Rasheed, who runs a tile shop, is wary about Raihan's safety for his valiant deed. Residents say that usually, guest labourers who commit petty crimes are sent back to their native places by the police soon after the formal legal proceedings are over. Raihan has two younger sisters, Amina and Aisha. His mother Dafna P is a homemaker.