The Rourkela Mahila police arrested a bus conductor on Saturday afternoon for allegedly molesting a girl passenger inside a running bus on Friday midnight.
Two drivers of the bus were also detained in this connection. Sources said victim (24), a resident of Patrapara under Town police station, Sundargarh, had gone to Paradip to meet her father. On Friday night, she had boarded Sarathi Bus at Jagatsinghpur and was returning to Rourkela. As per an FIR filed with the police on Saturday morning by the girl, the conductor of the bus had not allowed anyone to seat next to her and had deliberately left it vacant to occupy the seat himself. Thereafter, when the bus started moving, he sat near her and started molesting her.
later, he offered her cold drinks what she refused. At around 3 am in night when he again tried to outrage her modesty, she screamed inside the bus following which the other passengers rushed near her seat and beat the driver severely. On Saturday morning, she reached at Rourkela and thereafter, went to her relative’s house. later, at around 10 am, she along with her relatives came to the Mahila police station to lodge an FIR.
IIC Prativa Majhi after registering a case under IPC Section 354 and 354(a) started an investigation. On Saturday afternoon, the police arrested the accused conductor from Fertiliser area in Rourkela. He was identified as Saroj Das (25), a resident of Deogaon. On Sunday morning, he will be forwarded to court. Police have also seized the Sarathi Bus.