TN: Dalit Woman 'Forced' To Get Off Bus For Carrying Beef; Case Filed

In a disturbing incident, a bus driver and conductor forced a 59-year-old Dalit woman, Panchalai to deboard the bus in an unsafe location because she was carrying beef in her luggage. The incident happened on Tuesday on the Harur-Krishnagiri bus of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation. The woman belonged to  Navalai village in Morappur block of Dharmapuri district. However, the transport corporation has taken action against the bus driver and conductor and has suspended them. 

As per the reports, no one on the bus objected to the passenger or her luggage. The bus driver and conductor acted on their own. They already knew (or assumed) what the woman was carrying and didn't even check her luggage before asking her to get off the bus. 

What happened to the elderly Dalit woman?

The reports suggest that Panchalai was travelling to her village Navalai via the bus. However, around 12.20 pm the bus crew abruptly stopped the bus and asked her to get off. "It is suspected that the driver knew that the Scheduled Caste woman would buy beef from Harur, transport it in a vessel to her native Navalai village, and sell it for livelihood there," a media report said. 

The woman pleaded with the bus crew to at least drop her at the next bus stop. But ignoring her requests, the bus driver and conductor left her in an unsafe area near Morappur. 

The incident came to light when the residents of Morappur questioned the bus crew on their conduct. When the bus arrived at the Morappur bus stop in the evening, the residents demanded answers for discriminating against the woman because she belonged to a Scheduled Caste. 

The transport corporation will conduct an inquiry in the matter

When the issue escalated, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation officials from Harur arrived at the spot and tried to settle the matter. Speaking to a media handle, S Ponmudi, Managing Director of TNSTC (Salem), Dharmapuri Zone, said, “Driver N Sasikumar and conductor K Raghu have been suspended pending inquiry. The crew had no business to pry into the contents of the luggage and no complaints were raised or any suspicious behaviour was noted to warrant a check. The most important factor is that the driver and the conductor had deboarded an elderly passenger without considering her safety in an undesignated location. A comprehensive inquiry will be conducted.”