Cops record BMTC driver's statement on suicide bid

Police on Thursday recorded the statement of a BMTC bus driver who had attempted suicide on Wednesday after the corporation’s Sarathi Road Patrol Squad issued him a memo and demanded that he pay fine for plying the bus on a flyover in violation of rules. 

Krishna, the BMTC driver, told police that after a heated argument with the squad, he bought a bottle of fertilizer at a nearby shop, went to a temple and consumed the chemical substance. He plies the Banashankari-Hebbal bus (No 500A). 

A police officer quoted Krishna as saying that he steered the bus into the flyover to avoid the traffic congestion under it. He conceded that he had missed a bus stop. 

The BMTC does not allow drivers to ply buses on the flyover as commuters wait at bus stops under the flyover. Meanwhile, Krishna’s wife Prema and colleague Raghavendra alleged that BMTC officials were harassing the former.

The BMTC said it was looking into the matter and would take strict action against the guilty.

Officials of the corporation’s vigilance squad an enquiry would be conducted into the memo issued to Krishna for deviating from the scheduled route and missing a bus stop. Police said Krishna would be booked for attempt to suicide.