Uttar Pradesh roadways bus driver arrested for molesting, assaulting passenger on board moving bus - Hindustan Times
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Uttar Pradesh roadways bus driver arrested for molesting, assaulting passenger on board moving bus

ByHT Correspondent, Ghaziabad
Oct 01, 2020 11:25 PM IST

The driver of an Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) bus was arrested for allegedly molesting a 23-year-old woman from Bareilly on September 29.

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According to the complaint filed by the woman, who is a college student and also an office bearer of a human rights’ organisation, she was returning from Delhi to her home in Bareilly along with two others and had boarded a UPSRTC bus Tuesday evening.

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“Soon, after we boarded the bus and it started to move, the driver, who was in an inebriated state, asked me to come and sit near to his seat. When I objected, he started misbehaving with me and also hurled verbal abuses. He started to get violent and then I confronted him. We were the only three women passengers aboard. Thereafter, other male passengers intervened and some of them also captured the entire incident through video,” the complainant alleged.

In her complaint given to the police, the woman stated that the driver also told her that he is a government driver and offered her to stay with him.

“The driver also assaulted me when I objected to his actions. Later, I went to the police station and gave a police complaint. The police were initially not ready to lodge the FIR but later they did as there were many passengers in the bus and videos of the incident had also been taken,” she added.

The purported videos of the incident went viral over social media. They purportedly showed the suspect misbehaving and assaulting the victim.

Based on the complaint, the police registered an FIR against the driver identified as Sheodan Lal, who is stated to be a UPSRTC driver based at Hapur depot.

The FIR was registered under IPC sections of 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354a (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) at the Sahibabad police station.

According to the police, however, they registered the complaint promptly. “Based on the complaint given by the woman, we immediately registered an FIR under different IPC sections and the driver was arrested immediately. He was sent to jail,” said Keshav Kumar, assistant superintendent of police (Sahibabad).

Regional officials UPSRTC said the alleged conduct of the driver shown towards the passenger cannot be justified at all. They said they have written to the concerned Hapur depot officials for initiating strict action against him.

“The driver was suspended immediately after we came to know about the incident. He has a service record of about 15 years and was attached to the Hapur depot. I have written to his in-charge officer to initiate departmental action,” said AK Singh, regional manager of UPSRTC.

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