City Police Commissioner B. Dayannda felicitated a KSRTC Volvo bus conductor and driver for catching a thief after a hot chase and recovering ₹5 lakh which the accused along with his associates had stolen in the moving bus.
The driver T.N. Somappa, driving the bus from Thirunallar to Bengaluru on Thursday, recalled that the accused hailed from Uttar Pradesh and had boarded the bus at Chidambaram to go to Majestic. He asked Somappa to drop him to Majestic by 5.30 p.m. as he had to catch a train to his native place.
Somappa assured to drop him on time, but when the bus reached Electronics city, the accused and his associate in a hurry asked Somappa to stop the bus and said they had to get down.
Suspecting something fishy, when Somappa questioned the accused, they insisted on opening the door, following which he opened the door. When the bus moved for around 100 metres, the passenger who lost the money raised an alarm. Sensing that the accused were involved, Somappa stopped the bus and shouted at the duo to stop.
They began to run, but Somappa started chasing them and managed to pin one of them down, while the other jumped the barricade and escaped.
Upon checking, Somappa found the cash and he was brought to the bus and he alerted the depot manager who directed them to call the police. The accused was handed over to the Electronics City police, who have recovered the money and handed it over to the passenger.
The police suspect that the accused are part of a gang that steals valuables from passengers of crowded buses.
Appreciating the good work, Somappa and his colleague Manjunath were honoured by the city police for their brave act.
