Keonjhar: A 30-year-old woman was allegedly molested in a moving bus by the conductor in the district on Monday.

The conductor of the private transport bus, Kalindi Jena, was arrested on Monday following a complaint lodged by the victim, said inspector Keonjhar town police station Suryakanti Das. The private bus in which the incident occurred was also seized.

The victim had boarded Keonjhar-bound bus from Bhubaneswar bus stand. Incidentally, there were no passengers inside the bus when the victim occupied the seat. Finding her alone, the conductor passed lewd remarks. The woman was shocked at the misbehaviour of the conductor. He molested and even tried to rape her. She opposed him firmly and forced him to retreat. "When the bus was moving, the accused inappropriately touched her," the police said citing the allegations in the police complaint.

Jena had threatened her of dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident. After getting off from the bus, the woman told her family members about the incident and decided to take the culprit to task. "Initially I had thought of forgetting about the incident like a bad dream. However, my conscience wanted to fight against the injustice done to me. I rushed to the police station with a written complaint. I am glad that police acted promptly in arresting the culprit," said the victim.

Jena was booked under section 354 (outraging the modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint), section 342 (wrongful confinement), section 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code was later remanded to judicial custody.

Woman killed

An 80-year-old woman died on Tuesday afternoon after a speeding van hit her at Jarailo village in Erasama police limits of Jagatsinghpur district. The driver of the speeding vehicle, Swadhin Das, has been arrested for driving negligence. The deceased has been identified as Bauri Gochayat.