Peegate on bus: KSRTC says drunk passenger 'urinated on empty berth'

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) said a drunk passenger was removed from its Vijayapura-Hubballi-Mangaluru sleeper bus after he urinated on an empty berth during a dinner break on Tuesday night. He did not urinate on any female passengers, the agency added.

The non-air-conditioned bus (KA 19 F 3554) stopped at a restaurant at Kiresur, about 24 km northeast of Hubballi on national highway 218, at 10.30 pm on Tuesday for a scheduled dinner break. While all passengers got off the bus and headed to the restaurant, a drunk passenger who occupied berth number 29 didn't get down. He instead walked to berth number 3, which was empty at the time, and urinated on it.

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A woman who had occupied berth number 3 before the dinner break returned in time to find the drunk passenger urinating on her berth. She yelled at him and raised an alarm. Bus driver Santosh Mahapati, conductor Umesh Kardi and other passengers rushed to the woman's rescue and took the drunk passenger to task. They removed him from the bus and left him near the restaurant. The bus crew later washed the berth and wiped it with a cloth, and allotted the woman passenger berth number 9.

According to the KSRTC, the drunk passenger apologised for his behaviour but refused to give his personal details. No police complaint was lodged, and the bus resumed its journey, it added.

Both the woman and the drunk passenger were travelling to Hubballi. The bus was unreserved, according to the KSRTC.