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Councillor among four arrested for manhandling bus driver

 
Tension prevailed at Udyavara in Udupi district after a group of five men allegedly manhandled a private bus driver on Sunday night. Following the incident, all the service buses from Udupi remained off the road till Monday noon.

Speaking to mediapersons, the Kaup police said that four persons were arrested in the assault case. The arrested are Udupi councillor Yashpal Suvarna, Shiva Kumar, Yatish Kumar and Vishwanath. All four are Udupi residents and have come out on bail. On Sunday night at 8.45 pm, the five men travelling in a car allegedly stopped the bus and assaulted driver Dinesh.

They did not spare other people who came to the rescue of the driver including passengers. A few local residents and another driver Shamshuddhin was also injured. The cause behind the conflict is said to be the issue of overtaking each other’s vehicle. The police said that both the parties accused each other of plying with high speed. It is said that the gang also had a tiff with the drivers of three other buses.
The bus was plying towards Udupi from Mulki. Following the incident, bus drivers and conductors staged a protest in and around Kaup. The sources from Udupi town police said that no untoward incidents were reported during the protest on Monday. The buses were not allowed inside the service bus shelter and almost all buses had to park on the stretch connecting Karavali Junction and city bus stop. With the sudden bus strike, passengers bound to various destinations including Mangalore, Kollur and Shimoga were put to hardship. Many schoolchildren were returning home without bus services.  A few KSRTC buses which ply between Udupi and Mangalore were overcrowded.

Attack flayed

The Udupi district unit of CITU has condemned the attack on the private bus driver and demanded immediate action against the offenders.

A press release issued by CITU General Secretary Balakrishna Shetty demanded the district administration and district police department to initiate action against the culprits.

They also demanded the district administration to provide medical facilities to the driver and also to compensate with the expenses incurred. But, Welfare Party of India, Udupi unit has condemned the behaviour of the bus drivers and owners for calling a bus strike without any intimation.