Karnataka: KSRTC conductor helps nab thieves

A KSRTC conductor helped to nab two men who used to travel in the corporation’s high-end Airavat Club Class buses and steal valuables from passengers.

One such theft was reported on July 10. During the journey, a passenger requested for an emergency stop to attend nature’s call in the early hours. The bus driver complied. In the next few minutes, his co-passenger also alighted from the bus.

The duo, in their thirties, never came back. Their phones were switched off. After searching the area for 20 minutes, the bus left for Mangaluru.

Hours later, a woman passenger realised that her gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 2.5 lakh had been stolen.

Four months later, on the night of November 12, the Airavat bus to Mangaluru entered the platform an hour before the scheduled departure of 10.24 pm. Conductor Ashok Jadhav was checking the trip sheet when two men got into the bus.

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Jadhav, who is posted to Mangaluru 2 Depot, has been on the same route for years. The duo looked familiar and Jadhav noticed that they were observing everything keenly, including other passengers. He grew suspicious and came out of the bus to alert his superiors.

“I recognised them from their earlier trip. One of them seemed to have recognised me as well,” Jadhav told DH.

The two were taken to Upparpet police station where the conductor narrated the July incident.

“We have received a complaint and the inquiry is ongoing. As of now, we cannot reveal much,” police said.

In July, the KSRTC officials collected details about the mobile number through which the two seats were booked.

A search revealed that the duo had booked seats from the same number in different names like Arun, Abikumar, Akram, Majmood, Shamshad, Suhel.

They had travelled in high-end buses across Karnataka and to neighbouring states.

The police informed the KSRTC that the two accused would be handed over to Puttur police who are probing the July incident.

Jadhav said he had checked the bags left behind by the duo in the bus in July.

“From the homoeopathy medicine to the underclothes, the contents of the bags match the new ones. However, there is no identification card,” he said.

A senior KSRTC official said sporadic incidents of theft and pickpocketing are reported in high-end buses but the duo’s pattern of frequent travel on the premium buses was a new phenomenon.

“We were aware of some complaints but couldn’t piece them together,” an
official said while another added that a complaint was recently registered at Kadri police station in Mangaluru taluk by the husband of a passenger whose valuables were stolen.