Ggm bus conductor fined ₹96k for cheating passengers

Officials said that the conductor was found indulging in embezzlement during random checking of CCTV footage of buses by a flying squad last month.

A contractual bus conductor of Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL), who was caught fleecing money from passengers, was slapped a fine of ₹96,000, officials said on Thursday.

The conductor said the incident was a hard lesson for him. (Representative photo)

Officials said that the man, Ajit Kumar, hired through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) as conductor was found indulging in embezzlement during random checking of CCTV footage of buses by a flying squad last month.

“Kumar was deployed on route number 909 that operates from Badarpur border to Manjhawali in Faridabad from Sector 52 depot. It was noticed that he was charging money from passengers without issuing tickets, citing a malfunctioned ticket machine,” said Satish Kumar Ruhil, a senior official of Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS) that handles operations.

To be sure, the DIMTS handles all operations of the GMCBL required for running the fleet of 208 buses, including developing in-house applications for ticketing, preparing routes, deciding bus timings and their frequencies.

Kumar’s malpractice with one of the passengers prompted the squad to also check old CCTV footage, which revealed that he actually embezzled money from at least 48 passengers, a senior GMCBL official said.

Ruhil said recommendations were made to senior GMCBL officials to take action.

“Kumar was fined ₹96,000 and directed to submit it or face further action and lose his job,” Ruhil said.

After Kumar paid the fine within a couple of days and apologised in writing not to indulge in any malpractice again, he was allowed to resume his job, said officials.

“He said that he sold cattle at home to arrange the majority of the fine amount, and the remaining amount was managed from his savings and relatives,” Ruhil added.

The conductor said the incident was a hard lesson for him. “I have accepted my mistake, and the officials allowed me to continue my duty after I paid the fine,” he said.

Meanwhile, the GMCBL officials said at least 20 conductors were found involved in embezzling money from passengers in July and July and were fined ₹2,000 per passenger.

Earlier this week, a woman conductor was fined ₹20,000 for robbing 10 passengers.

“We don’t sack conductors on fine payment, as we are also in dearth of human resources. It may take months to get required replacement from HKRN,” said a GMCBL official, adding: “Meanwhile, such elements get blacklisted as may not ever get included in any hiring process of HKRN again.”