The Vigilance Wing of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has launched a probe against a conductor and driver attached to its Vadakkumchery depot after social worker Daya Bai complained of harassment by the duo on Saturday night.
The probe report will be submitted to KSRTC managing director Antony Chacko on Monday, following a directive issued by Transport Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. “I spoke to her and apologised on the agency’s behalf. Disciplinary action will be taken against the crew on the basis of the report,” Mr. Chacko said.
Speaking to The Hindu , Ms. Daya Bai, who was born in Kerala and is currently engaged in social work among tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, said the incident happened on board a KSRTC bus that she had boarded from Thrissur. She wanted to alight at a stop just after Aluva. But she had taken a ticket up to Aluva, since she did not know the exact stop. The conductor insisted on her alighting at Aluva at night though she was willing to pay extra for the additional distance.
Choicest abuses
“He banged the door and showered the choicest of abuses on me in front of co-passengers and people at the bus stop. The driver too joined in. The organisers of the public function in Thrissur overheard all this since they were continuously calling me on the phone to ensure that I alighted at the right stop. If this can happen to me, a law graduate, I can imagine the plight of lakhs of ordinary women who commute in buses. I am taking up the incident for their sake since every person has a right to human dignity. The KSRTC must take corrective measures,” Ms. Daya Bai said.
The police suggested that a case be registered against the bus crew. “I prefer to travel in trains since there have been experiences of bus crew, including that of private buses, verbally harassing and also behaving rudely to me and fellow passengers,” she added.
