COIMBATORE: A 21-year-old, under the influence of alcohol, stole a halted government bus in the Nilgiris district. However, his attempt failed as he was unable to operate the bus on the hilly terrain, after travelling a few kilometres, forcing him to abandon the bus. Police sources said, the suspect, A Rishal (21) from Valavayal village near Devala in Nilgiris, is a history sheeter caught for theft in the past.
A government bus plying between Gudalur and Kariyasolai usually halts at Kariyasolai for the night and commences its trip early morning. On Friday, the TNSTC staff halted the bus as usual. At around 5 am on Saturday, when they reached Kariyasolai, the bus was missing. They immediately alerted their superior officers, who then informed Nellakottah police. The police launched a search operation on the roads connecting to the village.
After an hour-long search, they found the bus near the fourth range area, a hilly terrain four kilometres away, using a GPS tracker fixed in the bus, police sources said.
“We continued our investigation to nab the culprit. While examining CCTV footage, we found that a youth involved in a bike theft on Friday night, had moved to Kariyasolai and the bike was found near to where the bus usually halts. We then identified the suspect,” said P Saravanan, the deputy superintendent of police in Devala sub-division.
During investigation,it was found that he abandoned the bus as he could not drive it further on hilly terrain, the DSP added. According to police sources, on Friday night, he stole a bike at Devala under the influence of alcohol and somehow lost his way and reached Kariyasola where he noticed a government bus parked without any staff nearby. Leaving the bike there, he took the bus to reach home, but was unable to proceed with the bus uphill. He then abandoned the bus and reached home by foot.
When enquired, a TNSTC official said that the bus can be operated with simple ignition without a key.