Govt bus driver, conductor booked for deboarding passenger who carried beef

Dharmapuri: For over three decades, M Panchalai, 59, has been famous for selling ‘beef chukka’ in her village called Navalai near Morappur. She used to buy beef meat from Harur and sell it in her village.
All these years, Panchalai never had any problem bringing the beef meat in a stainless steel container and travelling in a TNSTC or a private bus from Harur to her village.
But last Tuesday, Panchalai had a harrowing experience. As usual, she boarded a Hosur-bound TNSTC bus with beef meat in a container in Harur. While the bus was passing through a forest area, the conductor came to issue a ticket to Panchalai.
Panchalai told TOI, “The bus conductor, K Raghu, 50, asked me as to what was in the container. When I told him that it was beef meat, he refused to issue a ticket. He didn’t even heed my request to issue an additional ticket for the container and allow me to travel till at least the next bus stop. The driver, N Sasikumar, 50, stopped the bus, and the conductor forced me to deboard the bus around 1pm in the forest area.”
Arunachalam, 45, another beef chukka stall owner, travelled with Panchalai on the bus.
Arunachalam said, “I requested the conductor to allow her to get off at the next stop. But they did not show any mercy.” Arunachalam was not deboarded as he was not carrying beef.
Panchalai waited alone for an hour in the forest area and managed to board a private bus to reach her village.
On Wednesday, Panchalai filed a complaint with the Harur police against Raghu and Sasikumar.
Dharmapuri district SP N Stephen Jesubatham said, “We have registered a FIR under 294 (b) of IPC, 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(a)(D) of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes (POA) Act and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act against Raghu and Sasikumar, both from Harur.” He added that the duo would be arrested following an inquiry.
Meanwhile, TNSTC managing director Ponmudi placed Raghu and Sasikumar under suspension and directed a departmental inquiry.