Public bus staff beaten for asking drunk man not to sit near women in Gurugram

The incident occurred late Sunday night at the Basai bus stand on a GMCBL bus that operates on route number 212

Four men assaulted the driver and conductor of a bus in Gurugram after the latter asked a drunk passenger who had forcibly boarded the bus vehicle to sit away from women passengers, police officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

Based on the conductor’s complaint, a first information report was registered against unidentified suspects under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of ₹50 or above) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector-9A police station on Monday night. (Representational Image)

The incident occurred late Sunday night on a Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) bus that operates on route number 212 between Millennium City Centre Metro station and Basai Chowk, when it arrived at the Basai bus stand with passengers.

According to investigators, a drunk man forced his way onto the bus when it stopped at the Sheetala Mata temple bus stand. The conductor, Rajesh Kumar, attempted to deboard the man, but the suspect misbehaved with him and the driver, Praveen Kumar, said police officers associated with the case.

Investigators said the conductor then ordered the man to sit in the last row, away from the women passengers. At that point, the suspect took out his phone and dialled several associates. According to investigators, the bus crew and passengers were taken aback when they overheard the man asking someone on the phone to come to the Basai bus stand to teach the conductor a lesson when the bus arrived there. They ignored him, however, because he was inebriated, but when the bus arrived and halted at the Basai stand, they were surprised to find four people waiting there who then forcibly barged inside the bus, said investigators.

The four suspects assaulted the conductor without provocation, causing injuries to the head, face, jaws and shoulders. When the driver intervened to protect his colleague, he was assaulted, too, said investigators. The suspects tore the conductor’s uniform, during which he lost ₹5,000 in ticket sales, said police officers.

The suspects dragged the conductor onto the road and continued to assault him, said officers, adding that they fled after several passengers raised the alarm and began calling passersby for help. According to police, the entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras on board.

Subhash Boken, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said they would ask GMCBL to provide video footage of the suspects. “We will ascertain their identities from the footage and arrest them soon,” he added.

Rajiv Nagpal, manager (depot), said he had asked his subordinates to cooperate with the police. “Our crew makes every effort to ensure that such incidents do not occur and that passengers remain safe,” he said.

Based on the conductor’s complaint, a first information report was registered against unidentified suspects under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of ₹50 or above) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector-9A police station on Monday night.