Four BMTC staffers accused of pocketing Rs 2.82 lakh of student pass money

Three BMTC traffic controllers and a bus driver are accused of pocketing Rs 2.82 lakh they had collected from students for renewing annual passes.

Upparpet police registered a case of cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust against the four employees of the public transporter following a complaint by Shravan Kumar G S, a division security inspector at the BMTC headquarters.

Traffic controllers Poorna Chandra (posted at Byrathi Bande), Srinivas Gowda (Kathriguppe depot) and Ramesh K T (Kempegowda Bus Station, Majestic), along with bus driver Siddalingaiah, have been named in the FIR registered on May 30. Police have issued them notices to appear for questioning.

The case pertains to the student bus passes issued in 2018-19 and renewed in 2019-20. The BMTC had renewed the bus passes by giving the students smart cards at the Kempegowda Bus Station. A vigilance committee inquiry found that money from 183 renewed student passes had not been remitted to the BMTC.

The four employees were in charge of renewing the passes. When questioned, they claimed that the students had paid the money online. But when the vigilance team tracked down the students, they said they had paid the fee in cash at the counters. It was then that the BMTC decided to escalate the matter and approach the police.

BMTC Managing Director C Shikha said the software used in the pass validation would be fully secured in order to curb such incidents in future. Pass-issuing counters will also be regularly inspected by the line checking squad, she added.