'Frustrated' man who lost job stabs govt bus conductor in Bengaluru

A 23-year-old passenger, who recently lost his job and failed to get employment thereafter, stabbed a city bus conductor after he was asked to move away from the door of the vehicle for safety reasons, police said on Wednesday.

The video of the incident, which happened in Whitefield on Tuesday evening, went viral on social media platforms. The accused, Harsha Sinha, a native of Jharkhand, was recently fired by a business process outsourcing firm where he was employed, the police said. The accused was allegedly frustrated as he was unemployed since the last about three weeks.

According to the police, the incident occurred near the ITPL bus stop when the 45-year-old conductor of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus, Yogesh, asked Sinha to move away from the footboard as he was interrupting boarding and de-boarding of passengers.

This led to a verbal duel between the duo and Sinha allegedly pulled out a knife from his bag and stabbed the conductor.

The accused then allegedly tried to threaten other passengers forcing them to vacate the bus. The bus driver, Siddalingaswamy, locked the door and jumped out, leaving Sinha inside.

Later, Sinha allegedly took a hammer and started vandalising the bus.

In the purported video of the incident, passengers can be seen running out of the bus in fear after being threatened by Sinha, who also broke window glasses of the vehicle.

“The bus conductor was admitted to a hospital. He sustained injuries, but is stated to be out of danger now. The accused passenger has been arrested in the attempt to murder case registered against him,” a senior police official said.

During interrogation, the accused told the police that he did not do it intentionally, adding that he was frustrated since he was fired from his job some 20 days ago, the official added.

In a statement, the BMTC said conductor Yogesh, while performing his duties, instructed Sinha to move away from the bus's middle doors for safety reasons. The passenger, however, reacted violently and attacked the conductor, stabbing him in a sudden outburst.

“Following the attack, Sinha threatened other passengers and demanded they vacate the bus immediately. In a further act of aggression, the assailant used a hammer to damage the bus's windows and other property,” it stated.