Karnataka: Woman fined for throwing stones as bus doesn’t stop for her

The incident was reported days after CM Siddaramaiah launched the Shakti scheme that gives free bus travel for women.

A woman was fined ₹5,000 on Monday for throwing stones at a bus after it did not allegedly stop for her while was waiting for about four hours in the rain to return home from a temple at Hosalingapur in Karnataka’s Koppal district.

The woman said she was enraged after many buses passed by as she waited. (Twitter (Representative))

Lakshmi, the woman, said she was enraged after many buses passed by as she waited. Muthappa, the bus driver, tried to file a police complaint but the local bus depot manager sought the fine with the warning that a case would be registered against Lakshmi if she refused to pay it.

Lakshmi apologised and paid the fine before leaving for home on the same bus. “The woman instead of waiting for the bus in the direction where she wanted to go stood on the opposite side of the road. A glass was broken due to the stoning,” said Mukkanna Kukanur, Karnataka Road Transport Corporation manager.

The incident was reported days after chief minister Siddaramaiah launched the Shakti scheme as per the ruling Congress’s poll promise on June 11 for free bus travel for women. Officials said there has been a surge in the number of women passengers following the launch.