Auto driver assaults PMPML bus driver with iron rod; held

Pune: A rickshaw driver assaulted a PMPML bus driver near the BRTS stop at Dange Chowk in Wakad after a passenger left former's auto and boarded the bus on Wednesday.
Frustrated by losing the passenger, the auto driver blocked bus' way and assaulted bus driver with an iron rod. The bus conductor noted the rickshaw's registration number.

The PMPML bus driver, Rahul Kamble (27) of Bhosari, filed a complaint with the Wakad police on Wednesday.
A team from Wakad police arrested the driver, Sunil Gaikwad of Chinchwad, with the help of the registration number and charged him under sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 121 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), and 126 (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
"The incident is shocking, but the police have taken swift action and arrested the auto driver. Since it was a bus belonging to a private contractor, they should ensure that the driver is counselled and goes through a proper medical check-up. We always tell our drivers that under no circumstances should they raise their hands or initiate anything as they are representing the PMPML. We would suggest the private contractors do the same too. But there are no bindings of the PMPML when it comes to their drivers," Kishore Chauhan, the public relations officer of the PMPML, told TOI.
An officer from the Wakad police said Kamble worked as a driver with the PMPML on a contract basis since 2019. On Wednesday morning, he was driving the bus on the route between Bhosari and Hinjewadi.
"The bus reached the BRTS stop at Dange Chowk around 10.15am. There were over 30 passengers in the bus. At this point, a passenger from an autorickshaw, which was halted near the bus, got down from the auto and boarded the bus," the officer said.
The officer said before Kamble could move the bus, the autorickshaw driver blocked the way with his vehicle. "He reached the driver's window of the bus carrying an iron rod and started abusing Kamble. While Kamble requested him not to abuse as there were women passengers in the bus, the suspect suddenly assaulted him with the iron rod on his head. The autorickshaw driver then drove away from there," he said.
The officer said Kamble, who sustained head injuries in the attack, parked the bus at the bus stop and arranged another bus for the passengers. He then approached the police. "Our investigations are ongoing," the officer said.