Some passengers protested when they discovered that the bus had been stopped by the driver for two fellow passengers to offer namaz.
Updated: Tue, 06/06/23 at 12:26pm
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Barelli: A driver and a co-driver of the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) stopped the Delhi-bound ‘Janrath’ AC bus for ‘a few minutes’ to allow two passengers to deliver ‘namaaz’.
The incident happened on Sunday night when a UPSRTC bus carrying 14 passengers, departing from Bareilly terminal at around 9 pm, made an accidental stop on National Highway 24 in Milak area of Rampur district.
Some passengers protested when they saw the bus stop to allow two fellow passengers to salute.
One of them filmed a video and uploaded it on Twitter. In his complaint on Twitter, the passenger claimed the bus stopped, two passengers got off and started offering “namaaz” in front of the bus.
Following the complaint, UPSRTC Assistant Regional Manager (ARM) Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava in Bareilly suspended the driver KP Singh and co-driver Mohit Yadav.
The driver said that there were only 14 passengers in the car, and several of them wanted to use the roadside toilet, so they stopped the car. Then two other passengers said they wished to be offered “namaz” and he agreed to stop the bus for another five minutes for them.
“We don’t think there’s anything wrong with them praying. We will oppose the suspension,” said the co-pilot.
UPSRTC Regional Manager (Bareilly) Deepak Chaudhary said: “Bus passengers heading to Kaushambi (Delhi border) complained to me and I have directed ARM to look into the matter. Parking on the road will not endanger the safety of passengers.”
Meanwhile, the Employees Welfare Association expressed its support for the two suspended employees.
Hari Mohan Mishra, president of the association, said: “An employee cannot be suspended without a proper investigation. In such complaints, a committee is formed and action is taken after the panel finds the person guilty. In this case, they don’t even have time to explain.”
So far, the police have not lodged any complaints in this case.
