KOCHI: When the bus reached Vyttila, around 4 am on Sunday, passengers were woken up to abuses and cries of co-passengers. The video posted by Jacob Philip on social media shows 42-year-old Ajay Ghosh, and Sachin and Ashkar - two BTech students - were assaulted by persons who claimed Suresh Kallada Travels staff. Ajay said the employees and goons attacked him with rocks and beer bottles.
“When the bus broke down at Haripad, the crew members were not ready to arrange another bus to continue our journey. They were waiting for their mechanic from Thiruvananthapuram. I had to call Kayamkulam DySP who later informed the Haripad CI to resolve the issue. Following the police intervention, the staff arranged an alternate bus,” said Ajay, who is undergoing treatment at the hospital in Kochi.
“When we reached Kochi, we were woken up hearing the abuses of the people who boarded the bus Vyttila. They thrashed us inside the bus, and were searching for the person who had contacted the police at Haripad,” said Ajay. “Around 15 people assaulted me,” he added.
“The assaulters, threw us and our luggage out and brutally attacked us. They were constantly abusing and beating us. I thought that they were going to kill me. Even the students were beaten up very badly,” said Ajay. Sachin and Ashkar said they ran out of fear for their lives until they collapsed. “They were hitting us so hard that we had to run for our lives. They chased us for hours on their bikes till we collapsed,” said Sachin, a resident of Haripad.