‘She got back into bus, took her right slipper and assaulted me’: Woman attacks BMTC driver in Bengaluru for not stopping bus at undesignated spot | Bengaluru News
BENGALURU: A 42-year-old BMTC bus driver alleged that a female passenger assaulted him with her slippers when he refused to halt the bus at an undesignated spot. The driver explained that he would stop at the authorised bus stop to prevent traffic congestion. The situation escalated into a confrontation, leading to the assault. The incident occurred in Kaikondrahalli on Sarjapur Road.The accused is identified as Kavya, a software engineer at a private firm. According to the complaint filed by Atahar Hussain, 42, who is attached to depot 38, he was assigned to drive the bus from Tin Factory to Electronics City.Kavya, who had boarded the bus and taken a ticket for Kaikondrahalli bus stop, asked Hussain to stop the bus in front of her office. The movement of vehicles was slow due to peak hour traffic, and the police were not allowing any vehicles to stop. Hussain informed her that he would stop the bus at the bus stand, which was shifted a few metres away just a week ago. However, Kavya insisted that he stops. When he didn’t heed her request and was taking a right turn, she allegedly started shouting that she was a woman and needed to urgently relieve herself, and he could not behave like that with a woman.Speaking to TOI, Hussain said, “I panicked as she started shouting, complaining of a woman’s personal problem by holding her stomach. Soon after taking the right turn, I stopped the bus, and she got down. While getting down, she started scolding me filthily, to which I objected. I warned her not to use such language and of CCTV camera installed in the bus. She got back into the bus, took her right slipper, and assaulted me.“When she was trying to escape, I ran behind her and alerted the traffic women police nearby. She scolded the traffic police as well, using foul language, and said the police take bribes and don’t have the right to question her. She claimed she knows influential persons. The traffic police informed her that she was being recorded on a body-worn camera, but she didn’t care for it.She was then taken to Bellandur police station. Her husband came there after I lodged a complaint and requested police and me to forgive her, claiming she was under medication for some mental distress. The police suggested if we wanted to compromise, we would have to do it in court as the FIR was already registered.A senior officer said a complaint has been registered under BNS sections 121 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter a public servant from his duty), 131 (punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace).
