Telangana RTC Strike Day 7: Private bus employees arrested for cheating passengers
By Newsmeter Network Published on 11 Oct 2019 12:05 PM GMT
Telangana: In the wake of the ongoing TSRTC strike, entering its seventh day today, the Telangana government had roped in private drivers to ferry stranded passengers. While the government claims that 60% of the buses are running under hired private drivers, many passengers are distraught.
The limited availability of buses has led to passengers crowding in them, hanging on for dear life. Most of the private buses have also begun to charge extra, causing further distress to passengers. Meanwhile, RTC has already incurred a Rs 72 crore loss due to the strike. Acting upon the direction of Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar, the police are carrying out regular checks to ensure that private bus employees don’t charge extra.
Nalgonda police booked four private bus employees for allegedly cheating passengers by charging a high ticket fee. This is the first time that a case has been filed against private-bus conductors. In the wake of the ongoing Telangana RTC strike, Nalgonda police, on Thursday, carried out inspections at various bus depots. During checks, the four employees were reportedly charging 25-50 per cent extra. The cops booked three conductors — MD Jamil, MD Razak, N Ramanjaneyulu —and the driver Ajmeera Nageshwar Rao.
At the same time, Hyderabad police arrested a man for allegedly damaging a TSRTC bus. He was arguing with the bus driver from Shaikpet on Thursday, while the city’s dominant mode of transport remains paralysed due to the ongoing RTC strike.
The incident happened on the morning of October 9, when the bus travelling towards Patancheru had not given way to the man, following which he fell from his two-wheeler. The accused, identified as Abdul Hafeez from Hakimpet, then followed the RTC bus and made it stop near Shaikpet. Following this, he began to quarrel with the bus driver
K Suresh and threw stones at the bus, damaging it. A case was booked under Golconda Police Station, and they arrested Hafeez from his residence on Thursday.
