MTC crew thrashes Telangana college students in Egmore

In an incident of high-handedness by MTC crew, a group of college students from Telangana was thrashed by drivers and conductors in Egmore on Monday evening. However, the Egmore police detained the students as MTC workers staged protest and stopped operating buses, claiming that the students refused to take tickets and tried to attack the conductor, identified as Wilson.

A video purportedly shot by passers-by show the students being assaulted by a group of MTC crew, contrary to their claim. The police said the youth from Telangana reached the city on Monday morning after participating in a Kabaddi league in Puducherry. With their train leaving from Egmore station around 4 pm, they visited the Marina beach and boarded an MTC bus (route number 29A plying between Anna Square and Perambur).

Bus conductor Wilson claimed that the students refused to take tickets, which led to the quarrel and in the melee, one of the students allegedly stamped the conductor’s feet. The incident happened in front of the Egmore station when the students were about to get down from the bus.

When contacted, the Egmore police said that they have secured a group of students due to pressure from MTC union. However, the police said that they are yet to register a case.

Vinothkumar (name changed), who witnessed the incident, said the MTC crew could have treated the students fairly. “Even if they were at fault, the crew has no business of attacking them. I have seen conductors ill-treating passengers if they are from other States and do not know the local language. MTC officials should initiate action against the crew. Police personnel who were present at the spot also did not try to save the students from the mob,” he said.

A similar incident was reported last week in Dindigul in which a group of drivers and conductors attacked a passenger for objecting to the conductor changing dress in front of women passengers. The police registered a case against the passenger and not the crew.

The Anna Nagar police have arrested three college students for allegedly damaging an MTC bus after the conductor asked them to stop causing nuisance to other passengers. Gunasekar (19), Jayasuriya (20) and Santhosh (18), studying in Pachaiyappa’s College, were remanded in judicial custody on Saturday, while 17 other students were let off with a stern warning.

The incident happened on Friday evening when the MTC bus (route No 27H plying between Avadi and Anna Square) was near the rountana at Anna Nagar. As a group of college students were singing loudly, the conductor asked them not to cause nuisance to the other passengers.

Angered by this, the students hurled stones and damaged the glass panels of the bus. After passers-by alerted the police control room, a police team from Anna Nagar station rushed to the spot and secured 20 students. Investigation revealed that three students damaged the bus.