Staff Suspended, MD Apologised To Father And Daughter Who Were Assaulted By Staff: KSRTC Informs Kerala HC

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Friday told the Kerala High Court that it had suspended four of its employees for beating up a man in front of his daughter on September 20.

The state-run corporation said its Chairman and Managing Director personally contacted Preman, who was assaulted by KSRTC employees and apologised for their behaviour and assured stern action against them.

KSRTC on Friday filed a statement as directed by the High Court which registered a case on its own into the incident based on media reports.

It said there are 26,000 employees working with the KSRTC and a few of them conduct themselves in a rude and unruly manner tarnishing the name and reputation of the corporation.

"So as to protect the morale of the majority hardworking employees, the Chairman and Managing Director of the KSRTC has made a public apology assuring that all steps would be taken to regain the trust of the general public by taking strict and proper actions against the employees involved in the incident...," KSRTC said in the statement.

KSRTC also transferred the employee who recorded the assault on his phone considering his safety as he was targeted by those involved in the incident.

On Tuesday, 55-year old Preman and his college-going daughter were pushed and assaulted by the staff of the public transport carrier after a brief war of words erupted between them at a bus depot near Thiruvananthapuram.

The incident caught wide public and media attention after a purported visual captured on a mobile phone went viral and the local television channels aired it.

In the video, the employees could be seen pushing the man into a room and assaulting him and beating the girl who tried to stop them. The daughter could also be seen questioning the assault by the employees and another man could be heard telling the staffers to not beat them up.

Kattakkada police said five KSRTC employees have been booked in connection with the incident and various sections of IPC including 143, 149, 323 and so on have been slapped against them.

With PTI inputs