The Karnataka Police have arrested a bus conductor of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for allegedly assaulting a female passenger. The arrested conductor has been identified as Honnappa Nagappa Agasar.
According to the police, the victim, 24-year-old Tanzula Ismail Peerzade, in her complaint said that the incident took place on Tuesday, March 26, morning when she was travelling from Bilekahalli to Shivajinagar on a BMTC bus.
Tanzula said that the conductor refused to issue her a ticket despite her repeated requests.
"Subsequently, I requested the driver to stop the bus near a police station to file a complaint... the conductor approached me, hurled abuses, grabbed my clothes, pulled my hair, and slapped me. When I attempted to record the incident on my mobile phone, he snatched it from me and threw it away," the complainant said.
Tanzula further claimed that the conductor also threatened her.
Following her complaint, the police arrested the accused conductor. However, police sources said that the accused shared a different account of the incident.
The conductor claimed that he asked for the victim's Aadhar card to issue her a free ticket. However, she did not show her Aadhar card even after two stops. "When I requested her to either show the Aadhar card or purchase a ticket, the woman became furious, engaged in an argument, and slapped him first," the accused told the police.
Police have registered a case under IPC Sections 354 (assault), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (insult modesty of woman). They are conducting an investigation to verify the statements of the accused and the victim.
Meanwhile, a video of the incident captured by a co-passenger went viral on social media.
In the video, it can be seen that Tanzula first slaps the conductor, leading to an attack by Honnappa.
Notably, under the Shakthi Guarantee Scheme, women from Karnataka can travel free of cost on BMTC and KSRTC buses by showing a valid government identity card.