Mumbai: The Bazarpeth police in Kalyan arrested a Bhiwandi resident on Thursday for allegedly assaulting a female bus conductor aboard a State Transport bus during an argument.
According to the Bazarpeth police, the accused has been identified as Imtiaz Hashmi (35). The police said that Hashmi boarded the Bhiwandi-bound bus at the ST depot in Kalyan on Thursday afternoon. The police said he had come to Kalyan to meet friends on Thursday morning, and was on his way back home.
Siminka Kande (26) was on duty on the bus as a conductor.
“Ms. Kande was moving through the bus issuing tickets to passengers, and by the time the bus reached the Lal Chowky area, she came close to where Hashmi was standing in the aisle. She asked him to move up the aisle so that she could issue tickets to other passengers. When Hashmi did not respond, she touched his elbow and repeated her statement, which angered Hashmi. Ms. Kande and Hashmi started arguing, and Hashmi slapped her and grabbed the collar of her uniform,” said an officer with the Bazarpeth police station.
Angry passengers intervened, and asked the driver to stop the bus. The passengers dragged Hashmi off the bus, roughed him up, and called the police control room. The information was relayed to the Bazarpeth police, who sent a team to the spot and took Hashmi into custody.
The police subsequently recorded Ms. Kande’s statement, and placed Hashmi under arrest after taking him for medical tests.
“Hashmi has been charged with assault to deter a public servant from discharging their duty under the Indian Penal Code,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Shinde, Zone III, Thane police.
