Bus driver suspended by UPSRTC for stopping vehicle to allow 2 passengers offer ‘namaz’
1 min read 06 Jun 2023, 10:56 PM ISTThe action to suspend the driver was taken considering the fact that stopping the bus at a secluded place could have led to an untoward incident like loot and put at risk the lives of passengers including women.
PremiumA senior official of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation(UPSRTC) said that a driver of a UPSRTC bus of the Bareilly depot was suspended for stopping the bus in the middle of the night to allow two passengers offer 'namaz'. The bus conductor, a contractual employee, was also removed from service, he said.
The action to suspend the driver was taken considering the fact that stopping the bus at a secluded place could have led to an untoward incident like loot and put at risk the lives of passengers including women.
"UPSRTC's Janrath bus was heading to Kaushambi from the Satellite bus stand here Saturday night. K P Singh was driving the vehicle and Mohit Yadav was the bus conductor," Assistant Regional Manager (ARM), Bareilly depot, Sanjeev Srivastava said to PTI.
On reaching a secluded place before Rampur, the bus was stopped. When the passengers demanded an answer, they came to know that two Muslim passengers had got down and were offering namaz on the road.
The other passengers then raised an objection and one of them made a video of the incident and made it public on Sunday, he said.
A complaint was made to the MD Transport Corporation through Twitter after which action was taken in the matter on Monday.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Pandey, regional secretary, UP Roadways Employees Union termed the action as "one-sided" and said the driver and the conductor should have been given a chance to present their case.
