Bhubaneswar, May 15: In a knee jerk action after Tuesday’s macabre act of a bus conductor throwing out a man and his daughter from a running bus and their subsequent death, the state government has decided to make registration mandatory for all passenger vehicles’ staff.

One Sanischar Topo and his four-year-old daughter were travelling from Jharsuguda, 200km from here, to their home in Sundergarh in a bus. Topo had Rs 8 with him, instead of Rs 10 required for the ticket.

The conductor threw both out of the bus, as Toppo could not bear the entire fare. The duo were subsequently crushed under its wheels.

Taking a strong exception to the incident, transport minister Jayanarayan Mishra said: “Only licensed conductors will be allowed to operate in buses from now on. The names of all staff have to be registered so that there is more visibility.”

He added that bus owners would be responsible for the behaviour of their staff henceforth.

“If there is a repeat of yesterday’s incident in the future, a criminal case will be lodged against the owner, too,” Mishra warned.

Reacting to the “inhuman” and “insensitive” behaviour of the conductor, Mishra said the department would register the staff’s names when issuing route permits for buses.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the bereaved family.

Conductor Debraj Sahu was arrested and charged with “unintentional murder”. He had been remanded to judicial custody, said Jharsuguda circle inspector Suresh Mishra.

Apart from the mandatory registration, from now on owners will also have to inform authorities about transfer of staff to ensure accountability.

The strategy to streamline the process of appointing staff for passenger buses will be prepared soon. Thereafter, an owner would not be allowed to change or transfer staff at will. They will have to inform authorities first.

Plans are also on the pipeline to hold refresher courses for bus staff on behavioural norms.

Moreover, the department has warned that it would take prompt and strict action whenever reports of misbehaviour by conductors or staff received.

In case of a received complaint, the regional transport officer or a motor vehicle inspector would investigate the case.