Kochi's Nettoor incident: Rash, rude and dangerous criminals among bus employees make travelling a risky affair

KOCHI:  Are persons with criminal backgrounds dominating the workforce of private buses plying in Kochi? The Nettoor incident, in which as many as five students of Nettoor ITI suffered stab injuries on Wednesday when the employees of a private bus unleashed an attack, has put the spotlight back on the ‘criminal elements’ in private bus crew.Abu Tahir, 22, of Poochakkal, who brandished a sharp-edged weapon at the students, was involved in several assault cases in the past, according to the police officers. Cases were registered against him at Ernakulam South and Poochakkal police stations on charges of assault. He joined the crew of the ‘Mangalya’ bus only two days ago.

In many cases, the bus owners cannot verify the background of drivers, conductors and door checking staffs as they belong to distant places, M B Satyan, president of the Ernakulam District Bus Operators Association, told Express. “We are helpless,” he said. However, he mooted the idea of making it mandatory to have an authentication letter from the police stations concerned from where the person hails. “We request the cooperation of the police. If a station house officer (SHO) or the officer-in-charge issues a letter stating the person has no criminal background, we will be in a better position to hire him without any concern. However, we are collecting the copies of the driving licence and ID proof from new recruits before they join duty,” he said. He also requested the police to deploy personnel at the punching stations in the city.

The City Police and the MVD are conducting checks. However, despite the periodical intervention by the authorities, there is no end to the atrocities of bus crew in Kochi. The students in the city are more often the victims of ill-treatment - denial of entry, allowing only a limited number of students, non-permission to board the vehicle till other passengers have stepped in, denial of seats, rude behaviour and forced disembarkation midway.“They do not behave well with us. Sometimes we are asked to move out of the bus at a stop from where we cannot get concession later,” said Sijo Varghese, a student of Little Flower Engineering Institute in south Kalamassery.

“Students are not always offered concessions. The driving is rough at times. The conductors ask a lot of questions to students and only then do they grant the concession,” said Shihab, from Kochi, whose daughter is a first-year degree student at a private college in Kodungallur.“Students nearby are given no concession. There have been instances where female students have been teased by the bus employees. Some conductors force the students to go only in a particular bus,” said Prasanna Kumar, who works in a private firm in Vaduthala.

“The bus drivers are reckless in their driving and they compete among themselves on the road. Last week, an old lady was killed due to speeding by a private bus,” said Azeem A E, a hotel employee at Kaloor.Ernakulam RTO Reji P Varghese said, the department has initiated action to suspend the licence of drivers, conductors and other staff while receiving complaints of misbehaviour.

According to him, in the wake of recent instances of misbehaviour from the side of bus crew the MVD will conduct classes for personality development for the private bus employees as per the direction of District Collector Mohammed Y Safirulla. “We are planning to convene a meeting of bus owners and employees in order to sort out the issues. From this month itself, we will impart training in a phased manner. We are looking to constitute 60-member batches of employees before conducting the classes.”
Extending all support for any initiative to conduct commuter-friendly trips, Satyan said they are ready to co-operate with the authorities.
(With inputs from Edwin Stanley)

Nettoor incident 
The Nettoor incident, in which as many as five students of Nettoor ITI suffered stab injuries on Wednesday after the employees of a private bus unleashed an attack, has put the spotlight back on the ‘criminal elements’ in private bus crew