A tussle bet­ween the conductor of a KSRTC bus, who violated traffic rules, and a traffic constable near Okalipuram Junction, caused gridlock.

In the ensuing face-off, both Hussain Pasha, 28, a constable attached to Malles­waram traffic police station, and A S Prasanna, 34, conductor attached to the KSRTC’s Holenarasipur KSRTC, were injured and admitted to KC General Hospital, police said.

The KSRTC bus, travelling from Holenarasipur in Hassan district to the Majestic bus stand, should have proceeded on Dr Rajkumar Road towards Navarang signal and taken a left at Malleswaram and moved towards Seshadripuram to reach Majestic. Instead, the driver drove onto Dr Rajkumar Road continuing on Vatal Nagaraj Road and reached Okalipuram to take a short-cut to Majestic. But buses are not allowed to ply on this route till 11.30 am due to peak-hour traffic, police added.

When the traffic constable questioned the driver, it led to an argument, which saw the conductor alight from the bus and push the constable, leading to an exchange of blows between the two.

A few BMTC bus drivers and conductors nearby joined in and assaulted the constable. The police arrived at the spot to stop the fight and rush both to K C General Hospital, as they were bleeding.