VILLUPURAM: In a shocking incident, a young woman jumped off a moving TNSTC bus on Thursday evening after the conductor allegedly sexually harassed her. The driver and conductor of the bus were arrested in Villlupuram on Friday and were suspended from duty based on district collector D Mohan’s order.
Police said the woman was on her way home in Nannadu village when the incident occurred. Around 5 pm, all the other passengers got off the bus at Perumabakkam while the woman was supposed to alight at the final stop at Konur. However, the bus drove past the stop and K Silambarasan, the 32-year-old conductor, allegedly attempted to molest her.
“The conductor and driver had planned to drive the bus beyond Konur and stopped elsewhere when Silambarasan attempted to molest the woman. Soon after, the driver drove back to Konur but the woman already jumped off the bus when as it was moving slowly. So, a charge of abduction was also filed against the conductor, while the driver K Anbuselvan (45) was booked for abetment of the crime,” Villupuram SP Sreenatha told TNIE.
A member of the woman’s family said she had called her husband when the bus did not stop at Konur. “She was brave enough to jump out of the bus to escape the conductor. Her husband spotted her as he had followed the bus from the Konur stop. The driver and conductor were caught by the villagers. We (villagers) tried to beat them up, but police officials arrived and nabbed the duo. An FIR was registered within a few hours,” the family member said. The case was registered at the Kaanai police station, following which the collector ordered their suspension.
The conductor was booked under Sections 366, 342, 354-A of the IPC and Section 4 of TNWH Act 2002 r/w 114 IPC while the driver who was present at the crime scene was booked under IPC section 114, police said. The duo were remanded to judicial custody on Friday.
Collector Mohan rued that earlier on Thursday the administration had conducted a campaign on sexual harassment of women at the workplace and such an incident occurred the same evening in the district. "The police have been instructed to act quickly and severely. Stringent action will be taken against sexual offenders in the district," he said.