KOCHI: A rivalry between two private bus crews spilled onto Kochi’s roads in two incidents on Wednesday and Thursday, with an alleged episode of dangerous driving followed by a physical confrontation near the Kerala High Court the next morning. CCTV visuals of the incidents were widely circulated, while Ernakulam Central Police registered a suo motu case on Thursday.
Akshaya Aleena, a private bus operating on the Aluva-Fort Kochi route, and Shalimar, a private bus operating on the Eloor-Fort Kochi route, were involved in the incidents.
The first incident occurred around 4 pm on Wednesday. According to CCTV footage, the Shalimar bus approached the Akshaya Aleena bus from the rear left side at high speed, with its horn sounding. A pedestrian walking along the edge of the road appeared to narrowly escape being hit as the bus passed.
The footage also allegedly shows the Shalimar bus moving across the path of the Akshaya Aleena bus, following which both buses stopped and members of the crews confronted each other.
The rivalry allegedly escalated into another confrontation the following morning. Around 8 am on Thursday, the Akshaya Aleena bus stopped at a designated passenger stop along the pedestrian-railed sidewalk near the High Court, when a physical altercation broke out between members of the two bus crews.
Ernakulam Central Police subsequently registered a suo motu case against the drivers of the two buses over allegations of rash driving on a public way. The CCTV footage of the incidents has since been widely circulated on social media.