Woman alleges sexual assault in Kallada bus

A woman allegedly suffered sexual assault in an inter-state bus service of Suresh Kallada Tours and Travels in Kerala.

The incident took place between Kozhikode and Malappuram in North Kerala during the wee hours of Thursday. The accused, a co-driver of the bus, was held by Tenhipalam police. He was identified as Johnson Joseph of Kottayam district.

According to local sources, the woman, who is a native of Tamilnadu, alleged that the accused grabbed her while she was sleeping by around 1.30 am. She was travelling from Kannur district to Kollam. As the woman screamed and protested, other passengers in the bus alerted the police.

The Tenhipalam police in Malappuram district took the bus into custody and held the accused. The victim was learnt to have given a written complaint.

Malappuram district police chief T Narayanan said that a case was registered on the basis of the woman's statement. Stringent actions would be taken against the accused.

Some agitated passengers caused damages to the bus in protest. Another bus was arranged for the passengers to continue the journey.

The Suresh Kallada Tours and Travels was recently in the news after couple of passengers were assaulted by the drivers and staff of the firm on April 21. The provocation for the assault was the protest by the youths for the delay in arranging alternative bus after the bus in which they were travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Bengaluru broke down at Alappuzha district during odd hours.

The victim of the fresh incident was reported to be planning to travel by air from Mangalore to Thiruvananthapuram. But she missed the flight and decided to travel by bus. The bus was operating from Manipal to Thiruvananthapuram. The alleged sexual assault took place after the bus left Kozhikode district, said local sources.