The Maradu police on Monday arrested four office staff of the contract carriage operator Suresh Kallada in connection with the assault on three passengers aboard its Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru bus in the early hours of Sunday.
The arrested were identified as Jithin, 25, of Kodakara in Thrissur, and Jayesh, 29, of Pallikkal in Thiruvananthapuram, Rajesh, 26, and Anwar, 38, from Tamil Nadu. Another office staff, Girilal from Kollam, has also been arraigned as accused.
The police also took the bus into custody. The office of the operator at Vytilla was raided and a hard drive of CCTV footage, among other things, was taken into custody.
The police said the accused assaulted the passengers when the bus reached Vytilla after being informed that the victims had beaten up the cleaner of the bus, Raja, at Karuvatta in Haripad over the delay in making alternative arrangements after the bus broke down.
They barged into the bus and assaulted Ajay Ghosh, Sachin, and Muhammed Ashgar.
Meanwhile, the operator is learnt to have lodged a petition against the victims with the Haripad police accusing them of beating up the bus staff.
Suo motu case
“We are probing whether more people are involved and whether a criminal conspiracy had taken place. A suo motu case was registered even before collecting the statement of the victims,” said S. Surendran, District Police Cheif (Kochi City).
The police recorded the statement of Ajay Ghosh, who alleged that the attack was unleashed by a mob of around 15 people. Sachin and Muhammad Ashgar are reportedly admitted to a hospital in Palakkad.
The police may invoke IPC Sections 392 (robbery) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) against the accused.
Already, IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 294 B, and 34 (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place) have been invoked against them.