VELLORE: A visually impaired couple, Ramadhas and Visalakshmi, from Thippasandra near Pallikonda, allegedly faced mistreatment and abuse while alighting a TNSTC bus on Thursday. The couple boarded the bus in Vellore and were headed to Pallikonda. The driver, Senthil, stopped the vehicle at their destination. However, as they attempted to step down, they slipped and fell from the bus.
In a video that went viral on social media platforms, it can be seen that instead of assisting the couple, the driver and conductor abused them. “The conductor questioned our daily use of the bus and treated us with blatant disrespect,” the couple said. According to sources, this is not the first instance that the driver and conductor have verbally abused the couple. Moreover, the couple have repeatedly been denied their rightful seats for persons with disability.
Both the driver, Senthil, and the conductor, Prabhu, have been dismissed. “It has been confirmed that the driver and conductor mistreated the passengers, and we have issued their dismissal orders,” Ganapathy, the general manager of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.