KOCHI: THE issue of women’s safety in long-distance buses, especially during night, has come to the fore with a woman passenger lodging a complaint that she was molested while travelling in KSRTC Scania AC bus from Kollam to Mysuru on Wednesday.
In the complaint filed to the transport commissioner and KSRTC managing director, the woman said the bus driver and the conductor denied her the basic right of registering a police complaint against the accused.
She also said the bus crew let the accused escape by stopping the vehicle instead of questioning him and helping her lodge a complaint with the police.
The victim boarded the KSRTC bus (RP number RP660) on Wednesday at 4.30 pm, the complaint said.
“I fell asleep by around 11 pm, but by around 12:45 am a person seated behind me tried to grope me. Terrified by the act, I immediately woke up and went to the bus driver to complain about the same,” says the complaint, of which Express has accessed a copy of.
“The same was also put to the notice of the conductor. He advised me to move to another seat. Seeing that the person who tried to grope me was not quizzed, I went to that person and questioned him,” says the complaint. The accused later went to the driver’s cabin when the bus reached Ramanattukara near Kozhikode.
“I rushed to the bus crew and informed that I want to lodge the complaint. The driver stopped the bus and the door was opened. The person immediately ran away,” she said. Since the accused boarded the bus using an offline ticket, the woman was not in a position to trace his details.
“I’m deeply terrified, saddened and outraged with the incident and I would like to bring that person in front of the law. I’m also deeply saddened by the neglect shown by the bus crew. The incident has to be considered as an intent to outrage my modesty,” she said in the complaint, which was filed along with the photographs of the accused.
“When my husband asked the bus crew, they said no such incidents had happened. It’s sad that women passengers are not all safe during long-distant journey in a bus,” she told Express.
R Sreelekha, Transport Commissioner told Express proper action will be initiated.