KSRTC conductor helps police catch thieves

A KSRTC bus conductor Ashok Jadhav on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru Airavata Club Class bus on Saturday helped Bengaluru Police nab two people said to be involved in several instances of theft of valuables on KSRTC Club Class buses bound for Mangaluru.

According to a communiqué from the KSRTC, Mr. Jadhav saw the two getting into the bus soon after it arrived at the designated platform at the Kempegowda Bus Terminus in Bengaluru on Saturday night. Having seen the two passengers keeping a watch on movements of other passengers, Mr. Jadhav got suspicious and informed his higher-ups.

On the instructions of the higher-ups, Mr. Jadhav informed Upparpet Police about the involvement of the two passengers in the theft of ornaments and cash on the bus on July 10. The police were also informed about the involvement of the accused in other thefts reported on the bus on earlier occasions. The police came to the bus terminus and arrested the two.

On July 10, the two accused boarded the bus at Bengaluru. One of the two asked the driver to stop the bus at Gadiyar near Uppinangady at 5 a.m. on July 11 and got off it under the pretext of relieving himself. The other accused too followed and the two did not return.

After noticing that they were missing and their phones were also switched off, Mr. Jadhav filed a complaint with the jurisdictional police. At around 10 a.m. the same day the conductor received a call from a passenger, Lakshmi, who travelled on the same bus saying that ornaments worth ₹2.5 lakh and cash from her bag were missing.

After the registration of a complaint by Ms. Lakshmi, the KSRTC checked the booking data and found that the two passengers, who had got off the bus, had stolen cash and other valuables of bus passengers on earlier dates too and the phones of the accused were switched off. Apart from Upparpet Police, cases of theft were registered at the Puttur Town Police and Mangaluru East Police against them.

Appreciating the action of Mr. Jadhav, KSRTC Managing Director V. Anbukumar has in the communiqué said that this dedicated and passenger-friendly work of bus conductors and drivers has helped in building trust in KSRTC among commuters.