Customers pour out complaints

Many call up police, recount earlier bitter experiences

The arrest of two staffers of private contract carriage operator Suresh Kallada seems to have inspired several of its customers to complain against the operator.

The Maradu police, which registered the case received numerous such calls on Monday. Two callers, who claimed to be from the Middle East, wanted the operator to be taken to task. “We will look into such complaints and register cases where required,” said Byju P. Babu, SI. Ajay Ghosh, a passenger, alleged that he was brutally beaten up by the employees of the operator and hit with a stone on the head. He had alerted the police about the delay in making alternative arrangements after the bus broke down at Haripad. “They beat me up asking how dare I petition against the operator. I am yet to get back my possessions. They also beat up the youngsters who intervened,” said Mr. Ghosh who is admitted in a city hospital.

Stranded for 5 hours

Shibu Cyriac, a Bengaluru-based IT employee, said he stopped opting for Kallada three years ago after a string of bad experiences. “Once my wife and child got stranded for about five hours when the bus broke down. When I contacted the bus employees they were plain rude,” he said.

Speeding

Abhish Puthussery, a techie from Kochi who works in Bengaluru, said that almost all contract carriages were guilty of speeding.

He recollected an incident in which a contract carriage in which he was travelling met with an accident killing four people.