E-Paper
Ex-driver who stole PRTC bus had done it earlier too
Was hired under the km scheme before being fired; used to steal, diesel, batteries from the vehicle
Sukhjit Singh, a former driver under kilometre scheme of the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), who stole a bus from inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) on Friday morning, had done it earlier too on two occasions, but couldn’t be identified.
Sukhjit of Sivian village has been arrested for stealing the bus from bus stand. He drove away the bus plying on Ludhiana-Suratgarh route which was scheduled to leave the ISBT at 5.47am but driver Mandeep Singh found it missing. Police said the accused was aware that the conductor had got the bus refuelled on Thursday evening and he wanted to take out the diesel and sell it.
Jaskaran Singh, in-charge of bus stand police post, said the accused admitted that he wanted to steal diesel from the bus, but it was not possible at the ISBT, so he drove away the vehicle.
“The accused parked it along the road to his house in Sivian village. We have recovered 125 litres of fuel he took out of the bus fuel tank,” said Jaskaran, adding that the bus was tracked through the global positioning system fitted in the vehicle.
Drivers under kilometre scheme are hired by transporters while a conductor is deployed by the PRTC. The private firm had sacked Sukhjit.
A cop at bus stand police post said that accused had taken away buses from the ISBT at least twice earlier.
Baldev Singh, chairman of the Karamchari Dal, a trade union of the PRTC employees, said that Sukhjit had taken buses twice from the bus stand which he used to drive on the Ludhiana-Suratgarh route.
“Some 10 days back, he took a bus from bus stand at night and parked it near the multipurpose sports stadium after taking out its battery. Before this, he had taken away the same bus from bus stand and parked it near railway overbridge on the Bathinda-Mansa road after stealing diesel,” he said.
“On both occasions, he couldn’t be identified as he made best efforts to conceal his identity despite CCTV cameras having captured the bus being driven out of bus stand. But he was nabbed this time as the bus was fitted with GPS. As the PRTC staff and police already had doubt on Sukhjit, he was apprehended,” he said.
