A bus of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) that was stolen from Hyderabad on Wednesday was found dismantled in a yard in Nanded district of Maharashtra on Thursday. The bus was stolen from the Central Bus Station (CBS), Gowliguda, and the police had launched a massive search operation to track the vehicle after they received a complaint that the vehicle had vanished.
While they managed to track the bus to Nanded after monitoring CCTV footage along the road and toll plazas on the highway, investigation officials who landed up at the scrap yard could not find the bus. However, they later identified the chassis of the bus and the route boards, which are generally placed in front of the vehicle. The bus, a Metro Express, reportedly belonged to the Kushaiguda depot, plying the 3D route between Ambedkar Nagar and Afzalgunj.
While parts of the vehicle have been recovered, the police are yet to identify the accused. The police suspect that the plan may have been hatched in advance as they were perplexed by the speed at which the bus was taken to Maharashtra and dismantled.
Speaking to TNM, Afzalgunj Inspector G Venkatesham said, "The team is still in Nanded trying to ascertain what exactly happened. Once they return to Hyderabad by Friday evening, we will reveal further details."
The team is questioning various eye witnesses which includes workers at the scrap yard where the bus was dumped.
The driver of the bus had parked the vehicle at CBS on Tuesday night and gone to sleep at the rest room provided for him at the premises of the bus station. On Wednesday morning, he found the vehicle missing and searched for the bus, but in vain. The issue was then brought to the notice of his superiors who filed a complaint at the Afzalgunj police station.
Media reports suggested that the vehicle could be started with a starter switch, and not by key ignition, as it was an older model. The incident has also forced officials to contemplate stricter security measures.
“At this time, it is not possible to make technical modifications to install key-ignition system in these buses. Therefore, we are looking at identifying and installing alternative locking mechanisms for 900 night-out buses,” Executive Director (GHZ) Vinod Kumar was quoted as saying.
A similar incident had taken place in unified Andhra Pradesh in 2010, when an AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus which was parked in the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Stand (MGBS) in Hyderabad’s Imlibun area was stolen by unidentified persons and later abandoned at a petrol bunk at Narsapur in Medak district.