Jailed Family for Action on Errant MTC Driver

CHENNAI: A family, four of whose members were arrested and jailed for two days on charges of assaulting an MTC bus driver, has petitioned the city Police Commissioner for his direct intervention in the case, which, they alleged, was foisted on them following pressure mounted by MTC trade unions.

The family said it was the MTC bus driver who groped a woman in the family and in an instant reaction, she hit him with a slipper.

“My family, including two women, was lodged in the Puzhal Prison for two days. But the MTC staffer, who misbehaved with me and assaulted my brother, is roaming scot-free,” said V Prema, after submitting the petition on Wednesday.

According to her, the sequence of events took place on February 23, when the complainant Prema (25) was returning home after watching a night show at a theatre in Perambur. Seven family members including four children were accompanying Prema that night.

She was riding a twowheeler. On its pillion, her mother B.Sivagami (45) and sister-in-law, R.Indrani were sitting along with a child. Prema’s husband Vinod (30) and her brother B.Ramesh (29) were riding another bike with three children.

While returning home at Maduravoyal, they spotted a man, dressed in ‘khaki’ hurling abuses at Prema as she took a sharp turn to pass by him near the Anna Nagar bus depot. The family told Express that he was in an inebriated condition.

Unable to bear the abuses, Prema’s brother Ramesh reportedly questioned the man after which a group of about six men from the bus depot joined the party and assaulted Ramesh. An irate Prema questioned the MTC staff and went to the CMBT after learning that they left the Anna Nagar depot. “I questioned an MTC bus driver Narasimhan for assaulting my brother. But he resorted to abusing me with obscene words and when I said ‘lets go to the police station’, he groped me,” recalled Prema who also hit the man with her footwear.

Consequently, the MTC staff went on a flash strike demanding that the police arrest the family and the cops heeded thier demand. The family spent two days in the Puzhal Prison and were released on Friday last.

The family urged the city Police Commissioner to look into the issue and requested action against the unruly MTC staffer.

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The New Indian Express
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