BAGALKOT: Blood was shed for the first time ever since the bus strike began in the State as a 59-year-old bus driver of North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) allegedly died after unknown miscreants threw stones at the moving vehicle.Nabirasool Avati, a resident of Avati Nagar of Jamkhandi town, was attacked when he was driving the bus back to Jamkhandi from Vijayapura in the afternoon. The stones pierced the windshield and hit Avati on his head and neck. He parked the bus by the side of the road, before fainting in his seat.
Frantic passengers called for an ambulance, but it didn’t help as he had suffered severe injuries to his head and died on his way to hospital, claimed sources. He is survived by his wife and four children.According to sources, “Avati was attacked by one of the employees of NWKRTC to stop him from continuing to report to work, with the ongoing protest.”
Shahirabanu, wife of Avati, held the depot manager of Jamkhandi responsible for her husband’s death. “My husband had stayed away from work from the first day of the protest. But the depot manager pestered my husband, forcing him to report to work,” she said.
A complaint was lodged at Savalagi police station.SP Lokesh Jagalasar said, “The family members have filed a complaint against unknown miscreants. We have formed multiple teams to nab them. It is too early to comment on the attack and investigation is going on. This attack is not done by the public.” Avati was a recipient of the Chief Minister’s medal twice in his over three-decade long career in NWKRTC.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Laxman Savadi announced that the next of the kin of the deceased will be given a compensation of Rs 30 lakh and a job for a family member in the corporation. “The government will show no mercy against those who take the law into their hands,” he said while reiterating that soon after model code of conduct is lifted, the government will revise the wages of all those who come to back to duty.