BMTC conductor dragged out of bus, punched in suspect road-rage incident

Bengaluru: In a suspected case of road rage, two men riding a scooter abused and assaulted the driver and conductor of a BMTC bus on Tannery Road, East Bengaluru, on Saturday. 

The police have taken up a case and are identifying the suspects. 

According to the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the incident occurred when the Yelahanka-Shivajinagar bus (290E/26) had halted at the Canara Bank bus stop at 5:25 pm. 

In a police complaint, bus driver Gagan MV explained that the scooter riders barged into the bus from the front door before unleashing a volley of abuses and punches on him. When the bus conductor, Shivakumar, tried to intervene, he was dragged out of the bus, abused and assaulted in full public view. He was hit in the face, neck and waist, according to the complaint. 

CCTV footage shared by the BMTC shows two young men — one wearing a white half-sleeve T-shirt and jeans, and the other a full-sleeve T-shirt and jeans — assaulting the conductor, causing him to fall on the traffic-filled road. 

The bus crew were later treated at Bowring Hospital, and the KG Halli police registered a case under BNS sections dealing with voluntarily causing hurt and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty. 

A police officer close to the investigation said it appeared to be case of road rage although the exact motive remained unclear. Efforts are underway to identify and trace the suspects, the officer added.