Punjab Roadways bus goes missing from Chandigarh bus stand, found near driver’s village

A Punjab Roadways bus driver Gurlal and conductor Dharminder approached the police on Monday afternoon, claiming that their Amritsar-Chandigarh route bus parked at the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT), Sector 43, had been missing.

The driver claimed the bus had been stolen. Later in the day, it was recovered in Kharar, 25km from the ISBT.

Incidentally, the spot where the bus was recovered was near the driver’s village. Punjab Roadways GM had, earlier in the day, lodged a complaint about the missing bus.

The bus was recovered with missing tyres. (HT Photo)

“I had parked the bus at bus stand and gone off to sleep. But in the morning it was missing,” the driver Gurlal had claimed.

Later, another roadways employee called him up to say that the bus was lying abandoned near Kharar hidden in wild growth along the road. Diesel from the bus was stolen and all bus tyres, including stepney, were found missing.

“Punjab Roadways general manager lodged a complaint and the matter is being investigated. The bus was later recovered from Kharar,” said a police official, adding that a Daily Diary Report (DDR) has been lodged.

No first-information report (FIR) has been lodged yet.

Battery of the bus was also stolen along with all the tyres. (HT Photo)

CONTRADICTORY STATEMENTS FROM DRIVER, CONDUCTOR

Sources say the statements of the conductor and the driver do not match.

The driver claims they slept in the bus stand; the conductor said they slept in their village. The place from where the bus has been recovered is near the driver’s village.

NO CCTV AT THE ENTRANCE AND EXIT OF THE BUS STAND

There are no CCTV cameras at the entry and the exit of the ISBT. It is also a point of investigation that why no entry was made at the gates when the bus was apparently stolen.

“Investigation is on,” a police official said, adding that there were several angles to the case.