Haryana Roadways’ staff members protested and blocked traffic outside the Sector-17 bus stand on Tuesday after a conductor of the bus service was trashed by the public in full view of the police outside the bus stand.

The conductor, Suresh Kumar, had allegedly misbehaved with two women who boarded the bus for Chandigarh from Ambala in the morning.

The women reportedly phoned their relatives while on their way to Chandigarh and told them about the alleged indecent behaviour of the conductor.

As the bus reached Chandigarh, a relative of the women, Mohit, was already waiting along with some other men.

They started beating up the conductor as soon as he got off the bus. Policemen from the Police Control Room, Sector 17, were present, but instead of stopping the group, they allegedly looked on as mute spectators.

“When the bus was entering the bus stand in Chandigarh around 6 in the morning, a PCR vehicle signalled to stop the bus. Mohit and some other men then thrashed me badly while the policemen did not do anything,” said Suresh Kumar, the conductor.

In protest, Haryana Roadways’ staff abandoned work and parked buses at the Sector-16 cricket stadium roundabout.

All roads leading to the bus stand were blocked. The traffic jam lasted nearly four hours and was lifted only around 11 am after CTU Director M L Sharma assured the staff of justice. Later in the day, the two policemen, Sub-Inspector Gurbin Singh and a Home Guard constable, who were on duty at the time, were suspended for misconduct and failing to discharge their duty.

... contd.