A petition and counter-petition on verbal abuse and physical assault by a KSRTC bus passenger and some bus staff was filed with the Maradu police in connection with an incident that took place at Vytila Junction on the night of March 29.
Wilson Joseph, 58, a carpenter from Ezhupunna in Cherthala, had boarded a bus from Aroor to Palakkad en route to Vytila. He alleges that the conductor slapped and abused him. This happened after they complained and rang the bell to stop the bus, which sped off before they could get down, he said.
“I almost fell and hit a hand bar in the bus. Even after I got down, the conductor slapped me again and even kicked me on my stomach,” Mr Joseph said. He claimed that since then he had been to four different hospitals in Ernakulam and Cherthala, was admitted to two, and is currently advised bed rest for fractures in his right hand and spine Was. He said that in the scuffle he had lost ₹20,000 which he kept in his bag.
Mr. Joseph filed a petition with the Maradu police, the Ernakulam district collector, the district police chief (Kochi city), and the managing director of KSRTC.
Though the police had called him to the police station last Saturday along with KSRTC employees, he could not come as he was undergoing treatment at the hospital. Since then the conductor had filed a petition against him. The conductor, however, was not available for comment.
‘Both the parties have filed petitions against each other. We will summon both of them, only after which a decision will be taken on registering the case, said a police officer.