THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The transport department, on Wednesday, took disciplinary action against the bus conductor and driver who forcibly dropped a group of over 10 Sabarimala devotees on a forest road.
The bus driver, N Sajikumar, who was in temporary service, was dismissed, while conductor K N Premasuthan was transferred from Poovar to Kanhangad.
Stating that their act has tainted the goodwill of KSRTC, the disciplinary action came after the video footage of the incident was released by the media. The incident took place on Tuesday night, when the group booked tickets from Pampa to Nilamel.
The devotees were forced to get down from the bus on a road in the forest area near Nilamel Gopuram instead of the Nilamel bus stand. The group, which had women and children among them, had to call another vehicle to continue their journey.
The vigilance had also probed the issue and submitted a report, following which action was taken.