THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court here has declined the petition of KSRTC bus driver H L Yedu seeking a court-monitored probe on his complaint against Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran and her husband Balussery MLA Sachin Dev in connection with the road rage incident. The court, however, directed the police to conduct further probes in an impartial manner and instructed the investigation officer to ensure that the accused do not influence the witnesses in the case.
The court also turned its back on Yedu’s request for replacing the current investigating officer with a senior officer and reckoned that the ongoing probe was satisfactory.
The Cantonment police had earlier filed its report before the court, following up on a complaint filed by Yedu.
The report had said that the police did not arrest the mayor and her husband as it could not be confirmed that they had committed the offences as alleged by Yedu. The police said the allegation that the MLA trespassed into the bus was not true and it was Yedu who himself opened the hydraulic door after which the legislator entered the bus. Also, the witnesses did not testify the mayor and her husband used foul language against Yedu, the police report had said.
Yedu had approached the court seeking a court-monitored probe on the case against the mayor, her husband, and three others. The police were reluctant to register the case initially but were finally forced to do so after the magistrate court intervened.
The road rage incident took place on April 27. The mayor, along with her husband and the co-passengers in the car, blocked the bus and entered into a heated dispute with Yedu, alleging that he had made obscene gestures at her. Though Yedu was the first to lodge a complaint, the police registered a case of sexual harassment against Yedu based on the mayor’s complaint.
