Police call for security audit of private carriers in State

Three employees of bus operator held on assault charge

A Facebook video on the assault on two passengers by crew members inside an inter-State bus on Saturday has prompted the Kerala police to order a security audit of private carriers operating from the State.

Additional Director General of Police, South Zone, Manoj Abraham, told

The Hindu that passengers who travelled on inter-State buses appeared to have none of the rights or protections considered standard on aircraft and trains. Most complaints received related to abrasive behaviour on the part of the bus crew.

Details of crew

Passengers said crew often took unkindly to appeals for toilet breaks, complaints about seat bugs, cockroaches, shabby blankets and litter. Operators met protests with threats to throw out passengers mid-travel.

The police want inter-State carriers to install GPS on all buses for real-time tracking and display police helpline numbers inside the cabin. They have asked operators to submit the details of their crew to conduct background checks. Officers also planned to examine breath samples of carriage crew to detect alcohol impairment, if any.