A representative picture of a BMTC driver
Credit: DH Photo/S K Dinesh
Bengaluru: The Kumaraswamy Layout police arrested a man for assaulting a BMTC bus driver with a machete following a spat in south Bengaluru.
While the police managed to nab Nanda, 27, a resident of Chandra Nagar from KS Layout, the other suspect, John, is still at large.
On the midnight of April 4, a BMTC bus driver, who was parked at the KS Layout stop after his shift and was sleeping, confronted the two men following a commotion.
The situation escalated quickly as Nanda punched the driver in the face. John returned with a machete, attempting to further threaten the driver.
In a flash, John swung the machete, slashing the driver’s left thumb.
The commotion woke up the conductor, who bravely jumped in to help.
Thankfully, both the driver and conductor managed to escape the attackers. They were shaken, but unharmed. They received medical aid for their injuries. They filed a complaint the next day.
The officer investigating the case said that Nanda and John, clearly intoxicated, shouted near the bus, interrupting the driver’s sleep. When the driver asked them to quieten down, things turned ugly.
The duo responded with a barrage of insults, sparking the altercation.
“If the driver had called the police helpline, the incident would not have escalated. Infuriated by the duo’s comments, he decided to confront them and stormed out of the bus leading to the incident,” he said.
Police have launched a manhunt to nab John, who has another case against him, while Nanda has been arrested for the first time.
An FIR has been filed in the KS Layout police station under IPC sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation).