Conductor who forced girl may be suspended: BEST

A day after 11-year-old Zainab Ayesha Ansari was forced by a BEST bus conductor to get down midway through her journey because she could not produce change for a Rs3 ticket, the BEST management is considering suspending the conductor for his callousness.

A day after 11-year-old Zainab Ayesha Ansari was forced by a BEST bus conductor to get down midway through her journey because she could not produce change for a Rs3 ticket, the BEST management is considering suspending the conductor for his callousness.

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The Class VI student boarded bus no 383 at Khardevnagar to reach her home in Shivaji Nagar in Chembur. When Ansari produced a Rs10 note for a journey, the conductor reportedly stopped the bus and asked her to get off, unmindful of the fact that it was the middle of the busy Govandi flyover. Ansari finally reached home, and narrated her ordeal to her uncle Raees Ahmed who, along with his mother Shabana Ansari, lodged a complaint with the Shivaji Nagar bus depot.

A day later, the administration said that the conductor, once identified, would be suspended and a departmental enquiry would be initiated. “We will conduct a suspension inquiry against the conductor. This is severest action in the organisation as the staff is first suspended and then an inquiry is held,” informed a senior official from the Shivaji Nagar depot, requesting anonymity.

Zainab’s aggrieved uncle confirmed that he received calls from the BEST’s Shivaji Nagar bus depot and officials offered to visit the complainant’s residence to sort out the problem. “BEST officials assured strict action against the culprit, but they are not specifying what action they will take, and when,” Ahmed said.

“They should conduct an identification parade. Our child will identify the right person. Such incidents have taken place in past. After we complained at the BEST depot, other students have also started voicing similar grievances,” Ahmed said.