Ropar, May 1
Residents of Ropar gheraoed a double-decker private bus with more than 200 passengers on board, including on rooftop, and handed it over to the police late last night. The bus was allegedly plying illegally from Hoshiarpur to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
Plying illegally
The bus has been impounded as the crew couldn’t produce the requisite documents — permission to ply in Punjab and insurance policy, etc. Randhir Singh, ASP
The bus had been plying for the past couple of months despite the tall claims by the previous state government as well as the current regime of reining in the transport mafia, said eyewitnesses.
Meanwhile, Amarjit Singh Bhullar, Congress leader and resident of Shampura village, said he noticed two double-decker buses carrying a large number of passengers and the driver was picking up more people from a dhaba on the Ropar bypass around 7 pm.
“When I raised the issue of the passengers’ safety, the driver told me not to interfere. Then I informed the village sarpanch and he along with locals reached the spot and handed over one of the buses to the police. But the driver of the other bus sped away with the vehicle,” Bhullar added.
An inquiry revealed that a large number of such buses ferry migrant labourers between Punjab and UP.
ASP Randhir Singh said passengers on board were sent to their destinations on other buses and trains. — TNS
200 on board, pvt bus without documents gheraoed in Ropar
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