Sexual Harassment Or Road Rage? KSRTC Driver To Take Trivandrum Mayor To Court As Row Intensifies

Protests were held by Congress, BJP and employees of state roadways inside and outside Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

During a media address on April 29, Mayor Arya emphasized that the incident was one of sexual harassment, not solely a matter of overspeeding as some reports indicated. ( Image Source :Facebook/AryaRajendran )

A controversy erupted in Kerala surrounding the alleged "behavior" of Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran, her CPI-M legislator husband Sachin Dev, and other family members towards a bus driver of the state-owned KSRTC. In connection with the incident, protests were organised by the Congress, BJP, and state roadways employees inside and outside Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Tuesday. Despite the uproar, Arya remained resolute in her defense and delivered an emotional speech.

On Tuesday, protests erupted following the emergence of CCTV footage revealing that the car in which Rajendran and her family were travelling had halted a KSRTC bus on the main road in the state capital. The incident occurred around 10 p.m. on Sunday.

KSRTC Driver To Approach HC

The driver, identified as Yadu, was apprehended by the police. However, it is alleged that his complaint, regarding being obstructed from carrying out his duties, was not given due consideration.

Yadu informed the media on Tuesday that he was obstructed from performing his duty and deprived of justice, as his complaint was not acknowledged while the complaint against him was processed for action. He added that he was detained at the police station for several hours. Consequently, he said that he intends to pursue legal action, as per the report.

Arya Rajendran Delivers Emotional Speech

Rajendran defended her actions by asserting that their reaction towards the bus driver stemmed not only from his reckless driving, which nearly caused collisions with their vehicle but also from his obscene gesture towards them. However, she clarified that they did not stop the bus at a traffic signal.

During a media address on April 29, Mayor Arya emphasised that the incident was one of sexual harassment, not solely a matter of overspeeding as some reports indicated. She urged the media not to trivialize it as a case of road rage.

However, the CCTV visual painted a different picture which led to the controversy, according to a report on IANS.

The police said on Wednesday that the memory card of the CCTV inside the KSRTC bus has gone missing. A Kerala Police official who came to take the memory card said, “We checked the DVR, but the 64 GB memory card is missing. This means we will not be able to retrieve the visuals from the three CCTV cameras placed inside the bus.”