Woman shooter sexually harassed on Bhopal-Pune bus; 3 including drivers held

Indore: Two drivers and another man were arrested here on Thursday for allegedly sexually harassing a 30-year-old woman shooter on a private passenger bus travelling from Bhopal to Pune, police said.

Drivers of the Verma Travels bus, Arvind Verma (35) and Paramendra Gautam (52) alongwith `cleaner' (driver's assistant) Deepak Malviya (27) were arrested after the woman filed a complaint, Deputy Commissioner of Police Shrikrishna Lalchandani told PTI.

"The complainant left for Pune by the passenger bus on the night of November 16 after participating in a national shooting competition in Bhopal. The accused, who were drunk, repeatedly went over to her seat, touched her with bad intentions, and misbehaved with her," he said.

The bus had about 50 passengers on board, but none of them came to the woman's help, the DCP added.

When the bus was passing through Rajendra Nagar area of Indore, police were checking vehicles for drunken driving. Seeing police on the road, the victim mustered courage and began protesting loudly against the accused's actions, after which they abandoned the bus and fled.

The police contacted the bus operator and arranged for a replacement driver and cleaner, after which the bus resumed its journey.

A case was registered against the three accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and they were taken into custody on Thursday, DCP Lalchandani said, adding that further probe was on.

The bus will be seized as part of the probe, he added.