E.Sarath Babu, founder of Foodking, was allegedly roughed up by ticket checking staff of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) at Madipakkam on Monday when he stood up against harassment of fellow passengers in a bus.
Mr. Babu took an MTC bus (45A from Keelkattalai to Vivekanandar Illam) at Balaiah Gardens bus stop. He bought a Rs.3 ticket to Velachery, where his office is located. A group of about 30 passengers boarded the bus in the subsequent stops on Madipakkam-Velachery Link Road.
The bus then stopped for a couple of minutes for the conductor to issue tickets to all passengers. However, even before all of them could purchase their tickets, it began to move and reached the ‘kaiveli' stop, where four MTC ticket checking staff boarded the bus. “Two of the staff got in from the rear entrance and asked the group of passengers to produce tickets,” Mr. Sarath Babu told The Hindu .
When the passengers tried to explain that the conductor was yet to come to rear portion of the bus to issue tickets, the checking staff asked them to get down and pay fine for ticketless travel.
Mr. Babu intervened and tried to explain that it was not the passengers' fault. “They shouted and asked me to mind my business and asked if I had bought a ticket. I showed it to them. When I insisted that it was not the passengers' fault, they abused me in foul language, tore my shirt and twisted my arms,” he said. “I did not mind what they they did to me, but I was very upset at the harassment of the passengers,” he said. When the rest of the passengers came to his support, the staff got down from the vehicle and did not collect the fine from the group of passengers. Mr. Babu went to Pallikaranai police station to lodge a complaint, where he claimed he was chided for obstructing the duty of government staff.
However, the police personnel issued a Community Service Register and informed Mr.Babu that they would warn the MTC staff.
