Bengaluru: A BMTC conductor, Sangappa, sustained a head injury after being attacked with a rock by a passenger on October 18 near Tin Factory. The incident occurred around 2:35 pm while the conductor and the driver were having lunch in the parked bus (KA-57-F-1107). A medico-legal case has been registered, and further investigation is underway.
CCTV footage from the bus shows the attacker, Hemanth, hurling a large stone at the conductor’s head before fleeing the scene. Bystanders managed to apprehend Hemanth and handed him over to BMTC staff for questioning.
The conflict between Hemanth and Sangappa reportedly began three days prior to the attack. The two had argued when Sangappa asked Hemanth to produce his bus pass. During that altercation, Hemanth allegedly punched the conductor in the stomach before escaping.
After being caught and questioned, Hemanth admitted to the assault in a video statement, saying, “I did punch the conductor earlier, and I threw the stone today, but not with the intention to kill. I saw him and couldn’t control myself.”
This is the third assault on a BMTC conductor in the last two months. On September 8, a passenger threatened a conductor with a screwdriver on the Attibele-Majestic route. In another incident on October 1, a former BPO employee, Harsha Sinha, stabbed a BMTC conductor and vandalized the bus near the ITPL bus stop in Whitefield.
