The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Wednesday suspended a driver-cum-conductor for allegedly misbehaving with a woman passenger on the Pathanamthitta-Bengaluru service on April 17.
P.A. Shahjahan attached to the Pathanamthitta depot was suspended after a preliminary inquiry by the KSRTC. The probe was ordered following the complaint by the woman via email to the KSRTC that the driver had touched her inappropriately when she had asked him to open a window near her seat when the bus reached Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu. She filed the complaint after reaching Bengaluru.
A statement from the office of the chairman of the KSRTC said Shahjahan tried to contact the complainant by phone shortly after the incident and sent her a voice message. He also commented on the incident on media without the company’s consent. A preliminary probe revealed that he had tried to influence the complainant by threatening her through WhatsApp.
His comments in the news media are defamatory to the complainant and the institution and were factually incorrect, said a release.
