Bus conductor misbehaves with woman on Himayat Nagar route

Hyderabad: It was not a regular travel day for a 21-year-old woman commuting from Manikonda to Himayat Nagar in Hyderabad. Overcrowded buses are a major issue for women passengers travelling daily in Hyderabad. In this instance, a bus conductor misbehaved with the woman even while other passengers were present.

She shared her unpleasant experience on X, tagging TSRTC officials to take action. Speaking to NewsMeter, the woman described her ordeal: “On July 15, Monday, I was travelling in an RTC bus from Manikonda to Himayat Nagar. I usually go early in the morning to avoid the crowd, but on Monday, I was late and boarded the super crowded bus at 8 am. I was standing near the driver’s seat and later moved forward. As I did not have an Aadhaar card for free travel, I paid for my ticket,” she said.

“When I asked the bus conductor for a ticket, he started moving towards me. Given the crowded bus, I initially thought it was common for people to touch each other while standing. But he kept getting closer to my arm. When a passenger was about to get down, he intentionally moved towards me and touched my private parts,” she added.

The woman was certain the bus conductor did it deliberately.

“For two seconds, I did not know what had just happened. But when I shouted ‘uncle, what are you doing?’, he immediately stepped back and acted like he was checking his bag. Unfortunately, no one responded when I shouted,” she explained.

During the one-hour journey, the woman, who was silently crying, decided to record a video showing the face of the bus conductor. She shared the video on X to bring the issue to the attention of higher authorities.

“I thought to post what happened to me on social media and make efforts to ensure that such things won’t happen to any woman again. Many women might face similar issues but wouldn’t dare to speak up,” she told NewsMeter.

She urged TSRTC officials to increase the number of buses on that route to reduce crowding and avoid such unpleasant experiences for women passengers.

Responding to her post on X, TSRTC MD Sajjanar assured that they would look into the matter and take necessary action.

Speaking to NewsMeter, Sajjanar said that an departmental inquiry was ordered against the conductor of Farooq Nagar depot. Based on inquiry report, departmental action would be taken on the conductor.

Upon knowing the incident, Additional Director General of Police, Women’s Safety Wing Shikha Goel also inquired with the concerned officials.

The bus conductor has been taken into police custody, after a case was registered against him at Raidurgam police station.