Shambhu Ghosh recounts his horror story at Shyampukur police station. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

A bus conductor who abused a physically challenged man for not keeping small change to pay the fare and then pushed him off the running vehicle at a busy intersection got a taste of street justice before being handed over to police.

Ashish Jana hadn’t bargained for Calcutta’s growing intolerance of rash driving and roguish behaviour by bus conductors when he chose to banish Shambhu Ghosh from his presence, even as the bus was in the middle of the Shyambazar five-point crossing on Wednesday morning.

That was after he had subjected Ghosh to a mouthful of the choicest curse words for giving him a Rs 50 note instead of the exact fare.

As Ghosh, in his 30s, lay injured on the road, pedestrians came to his aid, while some others ran towards the bus to stop it. Jana was dragged out and thrashed, just as about 50 passengers of two racing private buses forced the drivers to pull up and beat them up near the Maniktala crossing last Sunday.

The arrival of a police team saved Jana from more physical damage. “We booked him on the charge of causing hurt to a person, based on the complaint lodged by Ghosh, a resident of East Sinthee,” deputy commissioner of police (headquarters) Vineet Goyal said.

Sitting at Shyampukur police station, Ghosh was trembling at the thought of what could have happened as he recounted his experience.

“I escaped with injuries to my elbow and legs. I could have been trapped under the wheels,” he said.

Ghosh had boarded the bus at Ultadanga — it was plying on route 32A, from Salt Lake to Dakshineswar — and was nearing Shyambazar when the conductor came to him for the fare.

“I was on the seat reserved for handicapped passengers. When the conductor asked for the fare, I gave him Rs 50 and said I did not have a note of a lower denomination. He curtly asked me to arrange for change and moved on. But how could I have got change in a running bus?" Ghosh asked.

Jana let fly a volley of abuse when the physically challenged man — Ghosh limps because of a problem in his right leg — stood up and headed for the door. “He shouted at me and accused me of not carrying change to avoid paying the fare. He asked me to get down immediately despite the bus being in motion.”

Ghosh tried to balance himself on the footboard and asked the conductor to stop the bus, but he wouldn’t. “I am not as fast as other commuters. Instead of helping me, the conductor pushed me without a warning,” he said.

Arup Ratan Sadhukha, one of the pedestrians who ran after the bus, told the police that the conductor knew he was at fault and tried to flee. “But we pinned him down,” he said.

Traffic sergeant S. Mukherjee, who was patrolling the area, first took Jana in custody and then escorted Ghosh to a nearby hospital. The police quoted doctors as saying that his injuries were not serious.

Metro has been running a campaign against anarchy on the roads of the city — reckless drivers mowing down people, autorickshaws treating every inch of space as their fief, bus conductors misbehaving with passengers, jaywalkers crossing streets with impunity and the authorities looking the other way.