Agitation over alleged assault by police officer on KSRTC bus driver

Hundreds of KSRTC bus drivers and conductors staged a protest outside the bus station on Thursday, claiming that a driver had been assaulted by the Sub Inspector of Police, J N Anand Kumar.

The protesters blocked the roads for over four hours, alleging that the driver, Murari, had been attacked for parking his bus on the foot-path in front of the bus stand.

According to KSRTC personnel, the incident happened after another protest by the Karnataka Raitha Sangha and the Hasiru Sene wound down.

As Sub Inspector Kumar sought to ease traffic congestion near the bus station, he ordered Murari’s bus to move ahead to help clear the road jam. When Murari claimed to have a problem with his vehicle’s gears, it is alleged that the sub-inspector became enraged and attacked him, even taking Murari to the police station.

Action demanded

Furious bus drivers and managers demanded that action be taken against the sub inspector. “The sub inspector of police had no right to attack the bus driver. Action should be taken against him at the earliest,” said Ravi, a bus driver.

Circle Inspector Srinivasamurthy tried to pacify the protestors and promised that justice would be reached at the earliest. But in a startling turn, commuters who were delayed by the KSTRTC protestors, have now filed a grievance against the bus drivers and managers themselves.

Passengers upset

Many passengers who were destined for Puttaparthi, Dharmavaram, Kadiri, Gorantla, Bangalore and Chikkaballapur were furious at being made to endure a four-hour delay
because of the protests.

In addition, they also complained that bus drivers frequently parked their vehicles on the foot-path even though there was ample parking at the bus station. They also complained of rash driving by bus drivers.

“The bus drivers should not park their vehicles on the footpath and should see to it that they do not cause any inconvenience to commuters,” said Chandrashekhar, a district-level secretary of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike.