Balasore: A 19-year-old college student had a harrowing experience in a bus as she was allegedly molested by the conductor during the course of the journey on Sunday.

The survivor, a first-year student of an engineering college at Tangi in Cuttack district boarded the Bhubaneswar-Udla bus to return home to Balasore.

However, she was forced to get down near Panikoili following the conductor's alleged misbehaviour. She also told her parents and relatives about the incident after getting down.

Her relatives stopped the bus near Chapalsahi between Nilgiri and Udla and thrashed the conductor. The accused, Pradip Sahu of Sankerka village in Mayurbhanj district, suffered injuries in the assault before being rescued by police, who admitted him to the local hospital.

The cops also detained the bust for more than five hours and made alternate arrangements for the other passengers.

They have registered a case against the conductor after the victim lodged a formal complaint. The woman said she was standing in the bus, which was packed with passengers. The accused conductor took advantage of the situation and deliberately touched her inappropriately. When she objected, he offered eatables to her. However, she got down near Panikoili and the accused refunded her money.

The officer in charge of Berhampur police station Gopal Singh said: "Preliminary investigations suggested that the conductor molested the victim in the moving bus. We have registered a case under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code. We will arrest the man after he is discharged from the hospital."