Body of conductor who jumped into river from moving bus found

MANGALURU: The body of the bus conductor who jumped into Kumaradhara river on Sunday was recovered around Wednesday noon.
Dakshina Kannada district police registered a case of abetment to suicide against Sowmya, the passenger who had a verbal altercation with conductor Devadas Shetty, 42, over tendering of change. Following this, Shetty had jumped into the river from the moving bus.
Rain hampered search Ryshanth CB, assistant superintendent of police, confirmed that the body was recovered near Sullia. "The search operation led by a team of expert divers which began on September 25 evening was hampered due to incessant rain in the surrounding areas. The body was recovered on Wednesday," he said. After the postmortem, the body was handed over to his family. The last rites were performed at his home town Gurpur.
On Sunday, Sowmya boarded the bus on its way to Subrahmanya from Mangaluru. Sowmya, travelling to Alangaru near Subrahmanya, had an argument with Devadas over tendering the exact amount of change. While Sowmya insisted she had given him Rs 500, Devadas maintained she had given him only Rs 100. The woman got down at Ramakunja and called her brothers, who asked the driver to take the bus to Kadaba police station. Police said when they checked the ticket details and the money in the conductor's bag, they found that Rs 500 was in excess and the conductor apologised.
Later, when the bus neared the Kumaradhara Bridge, Shetty opened the rear door of the moving bus and jumped into the river. A small note in the collection bag left on the bus stated that he had lost his self-respect and did not want to live.