Sujata Sinha: Victim of harassment

The Citu-affiliated Bus Employees Union suspended a bus driver and two conductors on Friday for harassing Sujata Sinha.

The Class XII student of Loreto Bowbazar was harassed while returning home in a bus (WB 25A-2034) on route 237 on Wednesday.

The union has put up notices at bus depots in Babughat, Birati More and Birati Tatkal, stating that driver Anup Sarkar and conductors Surajit Das and Krishna Ghose have been suspended with immediate effect.

With Sarkar busy racing against another bus, Sujata was forced to miss her scheduled stop, and when she raised a voice to stop the bus, she was laughed at.

Metro on Friday reported the plight of the schoolgirl, who felt humiliated as none of her fellow passengers came forward to help her.

“We read about the incident and called an emergency meeting, where the driver and the conductors were interrogated. One of the conductors admitted to the incident. We have suspended the three and they will never be able to work on the same route,” said Pradip Kumar Poddar, secretary of the Bus Employees Union of North 24-Parganas.

When informed about the suspension, Sujata felt sad for a while. “I am feeling bad that they have been suspended from work… But I hope they will never do it again,” she said.

By informing all associations across the state about the suspension, the leaders of the Bus Employees Union are trying to meet that objective.

Arnab Roy, owner of the private bus and an advocate at Calcutta High Court, welcomed the union’s decision. “I think such stern action will send a message and act as a deterrent,” said Roy.