Prema Ramappa Nadabatti, who is hailed as the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation's (BMTC) first female bus driver, was assaulted by her male colleagues.
The assault reportedly took place on June 26, when Prema, who works as a BMTC driver at Shantinagar, boarded a BMTC bus (KA 57-F-1351) coming from Richmond Road to City Market.
The doors of the bus were open and Prema boarded the bus at a signal. However, the bus conductor and driver disapproved of this and asked her to get out.The move is also technically not allowed.
But when the 41-year-old, who has been working for BMTC since 2009, refused to alight from the bus, she claims she was slapped and roughed up in front of the passengers. However, Prema still refused to leave the bus and continued her journey till city market, Bangalore Mirror reported.
Prema then went to the Bowring hospital, where she got treatment and later using the medical records filed a police complaint.
The police registered a complaint of assault and outraging the modesty of a woman. However, the bus driver and conductor have not been questioned.
An officer told Bangalore Mirror that Prema now wants to withdraw the complaint.
“Since both the conductor and the driver are from the same corporation where she works, there is possible pressure on her to withdraw the case. She returned to us wanting to withdraw the case. But since the complaint had already been registered, she has been asked to take up the matter with the jurisdictional court,” he said.
Prema, who hails from Gokak in Belgaum, is a single mother and has been working for BMTC since 2009.
