Teen air hostess molested on Tripura bus, mob vandalises vehicle in protest

The accused escaped the bus before it reached the Bishramganj motor stand, infuriated by which the girl's family and a mob vandalised the bus.

A young air hostess was allegedly molested by a male passenger on a moving bus in Tripura's Bishramganj area on Tuesday, triggering a tense situation that resulted in vandalism at the town motor stand.

The 19-year-old air hostess had arrived in Agartala from Guwahati and was travelling to Sonamura (Pixabay/Representative)

The 19-year-old air hostess had arrived in Agartala from Guwahati and was travelling to Sonamura when a man sitting next to her on the bus began behaving in an obscene manner, news agency ANI reported, citing police sources.

Immediately, the woman reached out to her family members, who rushed to the Bishramganj motor stand to confront the accused, who fled the scene before the bus reached the stand. Infuriated by his escape, a mob reportedly gathered at the motor stand and vandalised the bus, breaking its windows and creating a tense situation in the area.

Officers from the Bishramganj and Bishalgarh police stations, along with the District Superintendent of Police, rushed to the spot after receiving information about the vandalism. They broke out the mob, brought the situation under control and escorted the passengers to the police station.

Initially, the boy left but soon returned and bought a ticket. After reboarding the bus, he allegedly began misbehaving with the female passenger. When the conductor, Tejinder Singh, intervened and confronted him, it led to a verbal tiff between the two.

The misbehaving man called his friends when the bus reached near Malla village. The group then forcibly entered the bus and assaulted the conductor.

Earlier in March, a school bus driver was arrested in Mumbai for sexually harassing a 13-year-old student over a period of seven months. The principal was also booked as he allegedly failed to report the matter to the police following a complaint from the teen's parents.

The driver used to pick up the girl and her brother first in the morning and drop them last after school. He would reportedly ask the brother to sit at the back or look outside before inappropriately touching the victim. The girl experienced similar harassment when the driver touched her under the pretext of helping her board and deboard the bus.

The girl told her mother later that the driver always made her sit next to his seat or on his lap and touched her inappropriately. Following a complaint at the Sion police station, the driver was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Section 75(1) (sexual harassment) and under Section 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, 2012.