BENGALURU: Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus services were suspended for a few hours on Tuesday morning after employees of Shantinagar depot staged a protest over a driver attempting suicide. BMTC drivers and conductors from the depot staged a protest from 6.30 am to 10 am. Bus services resumed later.
Bus driver Madhu Kumar (32) tried to kill himself at the bus depot on Monday night, allegedly due to harassment by transport officers. Kumar consumed poison at the bus depot around 11.30 pm and was taken to Victoria Hospital. He was kept in the ICU for some time and was shifted to the general ward on Tuesday afternoon. He is out of danger. His wife Janita and his elder brother were at the hospital.
Kumar told the police that he was harassed by transport officers. As of 7 pm, Wilson Garden police had not filed a case. Sources said that Kumar, a resident of Laggere, reported for work half-an-hour before his scheduled time of 2.15 pm on Monday afternoon, but the authorities allegedly still harassed him, citing punctuality as the reason. “He was asked to take a different route to Attibele rather than his usual one from MG Road to Vijayanagar. So, he had an altercation with three transport officers. After completing the circuit, Kumar returned to the depot around 10.30 pm to drop off the vehicle. Around 11.30 pm, Kumar consumed poison at the depot,” they said.
Driver was late: Official
A BMTC official said that Kumar had reported late for work, which is why he was given a different route. The protest was called off after BMTC officials spoke to the employees. Depot manager Prakash held a meeting with senior BMTC officials, including the Divisional Mechanical Engineer and a member of CITU and promised an investigation.