Two persons arrested for assault on KSRTC bus driver, conductor

Kochi: Ernakulam rural police arrested two men on Monday for allegedly assaulting and injuring a KSRTC bus driver and conductor.Arrested persons have been identified as Ameer Shah, 21, of Keezhmad and Muhammad Rizwan, 24, of Thottumukham. They were arrested by Aluva East police. In the incident that happened on last Friday, the accused allegedly stopped their motorcycle in front of a bus near Chalakka and opened the driver's door to attack him. The conductor, who tried to intervene, was also injured in the attack.The accused allegedly took the bus keys and went into hiding by turning off their phones. A special investigation team nabbed the accused from relatives' houses. They went into hiding with the help of friends, said police.Motorcycle used by them has been taken into custody. They also have another case against them for assaulting a migrant worker at a pump in Muttom area, said police. Investigation team included inspector K G Gopakumar, SIs Jossy M Johnson, B Suresh Kumar and CPOs Mahinsha Abubakar, Muhammad Ameer and M Shahin.Four held with drugs: Kochi city police on Monday arrested four individuals with 8.19kg of ganja as part of a crackdown against smuggling of narcotic substances.Arrested individuals are Jaganath Nayak, 26, Jithin Nayak, 23, both hailing from Ganjam, Odisha; Appu Omanakkuttan alias Anilkuttan, 26, of Vellathooval, Idukki; and Anu A A, 35, of Kanjikuzhi, Idukki. Arrests were made as part of a crackdown on drug mafias, under the directive of city commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar.Based on a tip-off about ganja being transported from Odisha to Edappally, Jaganath and Jithin were spotted arriving at Edappally railway station via Antyodaya Express. Police followed them as they got into a car on the road behind railway station.Accused were booked under relevant provisions of NDPS Act. They were presented in court and remanded in judicial custody.