Seven people were injured and four buses damaged after a clash broke out between students of an educational institute and the staff of private bus operators on the issue of bus fare at Talwandi Sabo town, near here on Wednesday.
The clash broke out when students were staging a protest on the issue near the bus stand. The clash was actually the fallout of a tussle going on between bus operators and students over the issue of fare for the past few days. As both the groups resorted to stone- pelting on each other, window panes and front glasses of four private buses were smashed. Two damaged buses belonged to the New Deep Transport, one to the NGK Transport and one to the Bawa Bus Service. The bus operators also blocked a road by parking the buses on the road, but soon they removed the blockade following the intervention of the officials of the administration.
The injured were identified as Gurlal Singh, Iqbal Singh, Amritdeep Singh, Gurdeep Singh and Jaswant Singh, employees of private bus companies, while two of the injured were the passengers.
With tension prevailing in the area after the incident, traders preferred to keep their shops closed. One of the injured passengers was brought to the civil hospital here. A tussle had been going on between students and private bus operators of the town over the bus fare issue for the past few days. A case was registered against some bus operators for allegedly attacking a student over the issue last month. The bus operators had also staged a protest against the police administration on Tuesday by blocking a road.
With tension prevailing in the area after the incident, traders preferred to keep their shops closed. One of the injured passengers was brought to the civil hospital here. A tussle had been going on between students and private bus operators of the town over the bus fare issue for the past few days. A case was registered against some bus operators for allegedly attacking a student over the issue last month. The bus operators had also staged a protest against the police administration on Tuesday by blocking a road.
President of the Minibus Operators Union, Baltej Singh said that the bus operators had submitted an application with the police department seeking security as such incidents could not be ruled out in the future as well.
Talks were going on between the bus operators and representatives of students over the issue till the filing of the report.
Stationhouse officer, Talwandi Sabo, said that as the talks were going on, he was not in a position to tell anything on the issue.