Mystery of the missing Bengaluru bus shelter solved

The mysterious disappearance of a bus shelter, just one week after its installation on bustling Cunningham Road, has finally been resolved. Surprisingly, it wasn't stolen; instead, it was discovered tucked away in the Shivajinagar BBMP ward warehouse, as confirmed by the police.

The decision to relocate the shelter to the warehouse was made on August 25 by BBMP officials in Shivajinagar. They did this out of concern for public safety since the shelter posed a potential threat to passing vehicles and commuters seeking refuge underneath. Bengaluru City Commissioner B. Dayananda shed light on this decision.

However, an intriguing twist in the story emerges as police investigate why officials from the firm responsible for the installation initially filed a misleading theft complaint.

Dayananda addressed the media during a press conference on Tuesday, just a few metres from where the bus shelter once stood. He said, "This case garnered widespread media attention. Surprisingly, the bus shelter wasn't stolen; it was BBMP officials themselves who relocated it to their warehouse due to concerns about poor installation quality, in the interest of public safety."

The bus shelter was installed on Cunningham Road on August 21 by a private firm contracted by the BBMP. N Ravi Reddy, the associate vice president of the firm, filed a missing shelter report at High Grounds police station on September 30.

The police's investigation revealed that on August 22, an assistant executive engineer from the Vasanthnagar BBMP sub-ward conducted an inspection of ongoing projects in the area. During the inspection, he noted the lack of a scientifically sound installation approach for the bus shelter on Cunningham Road.

He promptly contacted Reddy and requested the submission of work orders and other relevant details provided by the BBMP for shelter installation. However, when Reddy neither visited the BBMP office nor submitted any documents, the BBMP moved the bus shelter on August 25, citing public safety concerns.

An investigating officer informed DH that they are still working to determine why Reddy filed a misleading complaint.

The officer also mentioned that the estimated value of the bus shelter is likely around Rs 3 lakh, significantly lower than the previously reported Rs 10 lakh figure in the media.