The Karnataka police on Wednesday, November 30, arrested a school bus driver for allegedly raping a woman inside the vehicle in Bengaluru. The accused has been identified as Shivakumar, a bus driver at a private school. The police said that the crime happened around 5.30 pm on Tuesday. The survivor was reportedly waiting for a bus near the Nayandanahalli Junction in West Bengaluru when Shivakumar offered to give her a lift.
According to the police, after the survivor boarded the vehicle, the driver took her to the Nagarabhavi Service Road near the Malai Mahadeswara Temple and raped her. There was no one else present on the bus at the time of the incident. The survivor subsequently took a picture of the bus and informed her son about the incident, following which the latter confronted the bus driver. Local residents called the police after spotting the woman's son fighting with the driver, the police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Laxman B Nimbargi said that an FIR was filed immediately at the Chandra Layout police station and the bus driver was arrested. He has been booked under sections 376 (rape), 307 (attempted murder), and 506 (criminal intimidation), among other offences of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The incident was reported just five days after a 22-year-old woman from Kerala was allegedly raped by a Rapido bike taxi driver and his friend on November 24 in Bengaluru’s Electronic City.