4 from Haryana held for assaulting HRTC bus driver

Shimla: In a road rage case, four people from Panchkula in Haryana, including a woman, were arrested on Sunday for assaulting the driver of a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) Volvo bus near Kachighati area in Shimla.According to the police, the incident occurred after a Delhi-Shimla Volvo bus overtook an HR-registered SUV. Its occupants allegedly intercepted the bus, dragged its driver Rajender Kumar out of the moving vehicle and assaulted him. Videos of the incident also went viral on social media even as a team from the local police station reached the spot and arrested two of the four accused.The two arrested men have been identified as Pankaj and Vikas Kumar, both residents of Panchkula in Haryana. The other two accused, identified as Vicky Kumar and Pratibha, also from Panchkula, were arrested from Theog in Shimla district following protest by employees of the HRTC.Following the incident, HRTC drivers and conductors suspended bus services and staged a protest in Shimla, demanding the arrest of the two other occupants of the SUV.HRTC Employees' Union president Maan Singh Thakur alleged police inaction and demanded strict action against all those involved."There were four people, including a woman, who attacked the driver at around 5.30am for overtaking their SUV and left him badly injured with head wounds and a fractured nose. But the police have arrested only two and allowed the remaining two accused to roam freely," said Thakur."The accused also endangered the lives of around 40 passengers by dragging the driver out while the bus was still moving. Had the conductor, Pankaj Kumar, not applied the hand brake immediately, a major tragedy could have occurred," he added.A police officer said that an FIR was filed against the accused under various sections of the BNS.