Karnataka Transport Minister denies allegations that NWKRTC conductor tried to molest minor girl on bus

Says the conductor had got into an altercation with a boy and girl, both minors, who refused to speak Kannada.

Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has dismissed allegations that the NWKRTC conductor, who was allegedly assaulted in Chikka Balekundri village, had molested a minor girl on the bus. The conductor has been booked under the POCSO Act.

“Conductor Mahadev Hukkeri has been serving on the same route for over five years. He was beaten up a group of men in the village over a language row. The charge that he molested a minor girl on the bus is false and baseless. There were 90 passengers in the bus. How is such an offence possible in such a situation in broad daylight? Vested interests have filed the case against him only to harass him. It is unfortunate that the police have registered the complaint. They should have used their common sense before registering the First Information Report,” Mr Reddy said.

He was speaking to reporters after meeting the injured conductor in the hospital.

He said that officers had told him that the conductor had got into an altercation with a boy and girl, both minors, who refused to speak Kannada. The conductor found out that the boy was a ticketless traveller. He had obtained, against rules, a zero fare ticket, from another female passenger. When the conductor questioned this, they asked him to speak in Marathi. He asked them to speak in Kannada. An argument ensued. The boy called his friends and family members on his mobile phone. They got into the bus at the next bus stop and allegedly assaulted the conductor, the Minister said.

The conductor is worried about the POCSO case. “KSRTC and other State-run transport undertakings operate 1.72 lakh trips per day. We have been operating for nearly seven decades, but this is the first such case against any of our staff,” the Minister said.

“The doctors told me the conductor would be discharged after two days. NWKRTC MD and other senior officers have visited the hospital and met his family. They have also spoken to the police. I will speak to the Home minster and see that no innocent is punished,” Mr Reddy said.

Four of the five persons, who have been arrested, have been remanded in judicial custody. One is a minor.