Chennai: A woman who allegedly slapped an MTC bus driver at CMBT here after he groped her in a road rage submitted a petition on Wednesday to the police commissioner demanding action against the driver.
The suspect used his trade union power to put her along with her mother, brother and husband, in jail, on February 24. The arrest attracted the ire of civil society which faulted both the Chennai police and the judiciary for sending the family to jail as against the guidelines of Supreme Court.
On the night of February 23, the 25-year-old woman and her family members were returning home on two-wheelers after watching a second-show at a multiplex in Perambur.
The woman happened to negotiate past an apparently drunk man clad in Khaki standing in the middle of the road while passing by Anna Nagar bus depot, and the latter hurled abuses at her.
The family members stopped to question the behaviour of the drunk man which drew a gang of six busmen from the depot who thrashed two family members.
On seeing the attackers leaving in a bus, she followed the vehicle to CMBT where she raised the issue with the MTC crew member, Narasimhan. An enraged Narasimhan allegedly groped her and began hurling verbal abuses.
The woman slapped him with her footwear. The MTC man instigated a flash strike seeking the arrest of the family, which was complied with in time.
“All I asked him was to come to the police station to settle the issue. I hit him because he abused and groped me. My family had nothing to do in this”, she told reporters. The family had to spend two days in Puzhal prison and was later enlarged on bail.
