The BMTC driver, who was accused of attempting to sexually assault a woman passenger on a Pushpak bus on Thursday night, has been dismissed from service on Monday.
BMTC Managing Director Anjum Parvez, however, clarified that the dismissal was not in connection with Thursday’s assault, as the investigation into the case was still under way. The driver Siddhartha had a number of cases of pilferage, not issuing tickets to passengers, misbehaviour with senior officers in the depot, among other cases. “His records showed a large number of cases and therefore he was dismissed,” he added.
Mr. Parvez said that there was also another case filed against the driver’s behaviour by a woman colleague in 2012. However, during investigation, the complainant turned hostile.
Meanwhile, members of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) staged protest in the city against the incident. They held State government responsible for not installing CCTV cameras inside buses. There could be any incident that may also pose a risk to the driver during odd hours, they said, adding that the cameras must be installed so that the authorities can actually see the truth instead of listening to different versions of a story.
