Workers of the Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department [APPTD (erstwhile APSRTC)] on Sunday (October 29) staged protests in all the 129 depots across the State demanding that the culprits in the attack on RTC driver B.R Singh at Kavali be booked under non-bailable Sections of the IPC.
Mr. Singh was thrashed and injured by the occupants of a car that was going in front of the super luxury bus, which on its way to Vijayawada from Bengaluru. The occupants of the car took offence to Mr. Singh blowing the horn, seeking road space to pass.
The workers assembled at their respective depots and demanded justice for Mr. Singh. Raising serious concern about the safety of the State bus crew, they said the Government should intervene and punish the guilty to instil confidence among the employees.
In a statement, the APPTD Employees’ Union State president P. Damodara Rao and general secretary G.V. Narasaiah said workers across the State showed their strong resentment against the Kavali incident by reporting for duty wearing black badges. They said the attack was condemnable and support for the RTC driver was pouring in from all quarters.
Andhra Pradesh Joint Action Committee (JAC) Amaravati chairman Bopparaju Venkateswarlu took the matter to the notice of Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, who, in turn, promised them stringent action against those responsible for the attack.
The leaders expressed satisfaction over the immediate response from the government to the incident, resulting in a few arrests. Demanding fair play, they said any attempt to shield the real culprits by finding innocent persons as scapegoats would not be tolerated. The leaders said that in the event of any foul play, RTC workers across the State would resort to a massive ‘Chalo Kavali’.
They demanded immediate arrest of all the 14 accused and said the case should be shifted to the Vijayawada court.
