The High grounds police have cracked the mystery of the missing bus shelter, that was alleged to be stolen, and found it safe in the custody of the civic body.
A private firm had put up a bus shelter in collaboration with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) near High Grounds Police Station. One Ravi Reddy, representing Signpost India agency, filed a complaint on September 28 that the bus-shelter that had been constructed on Cunningham road, opposite Cafe Coffee Day, worth ₹10 lakh had been stolen. Mr. Reddy said that he had approached the BBMP to seek details about the bus shelter before filing the complaint.
City Police Commissioner B. Dayananda clarified that the bus shelter was not stolen but evicted due to substandard work, considering the safety of passengers.
As this bus stop was a stone’s throw away from the city Police Commissioner’s office, the police received a lot of flak over the case. They swung into action, analysed CCTV footage, before approaching the Executive Engineer, BBMP, for clarification. The Executive Engineer reportedly told the police that he had observed during a routine inspection conducted on August 22 that the bus shelter was not constructed as per the prescribed standards and was a threat to the safety of people.
A notice was served to the company and it was communicated to Mr. Reddy over telephone seeking a copy of the permission granted to him by the BBMP. Even after three days, when Mr. Reddy failed to submit the required documents, the officials removed the shelter and kept it in the BBMP ward storage space in Shivaji Nagar.
The police have now intimated Mr. Reddy about the investigations and summoned him again for questioning. The case will be closed and we will seek legal opinion to take action against false information.
The news of the missing bus shelter spread like wild fire and the police were at the receiving end of criticism on social media.
