District Collector Ramesh Chandra Rout on Sunday, after intercepting a private bus, handed over its conductor to the traffic police for action.
According to sources, the bus from Baleswar which was heading towards Oupada was in the line when a level-crossing gate was closed due to movement of a train. At that time, the Collector was going to attend a programme.
The driver of the bus was creating a mess as soon as the gate opened. Collector Rout found that the driver didn’t have a driving licence and the bus was not having all requisite documents and the conductor was in an inebriated state. Rout informed police about it. A penalty of Rs 13,500 was slapped on the bus. The driver fled from the scene abandoning the vehicle.