On Monday, June 5, a driver of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) was suspended for halting the Delhi-bound “Janrath” bus on Saturday night (June 3), to allow two Muslim passengers to offer namaz on the road. The bus conductor, a contractual employee, has been removed from his post as well.
The incident transpired on June 3, when the UPSRTC bus made an abrupt stop on National Highway-24 in the Milak area of Rampur district after departing from the Bareilly terminal at around 7 p.m.
When the passengers saw that the bus had stopped so that two fellow passengers could perform namaz, they objected. One of the passengers named Satyendra recorded a video and tweeted it. This passenger complained on Twitter that two Muslim passengers stepped down from the bus and began performing ‘namaz’ in front of the halted bus.
“At night I took the Janrath bus @UPSRTCHQ from Bareilly to Delhi. Whose departure time was 7 PM, the bus stopped at 8:25 pm and I went and saw that 2 Muslims got down from the bus and started offering Namaz sitting in front of the bus, I complained to ARM, SM, RM of Bareilly Depot,” Janrath passenger Satyendra tweeted.
रात मैने बरेली से दिल्ली के लिए @UPSRTCHQ की जनरथ बस ली। जिस का प्रस्थान समय 7PM था,बस 8:25 pm में रुकी और मेने जा के देखा की 2 मुस्लिम बस से उतरे और बस के सामने बैठ कर नमाज़ पढ़ने लगे,मैने bareillyDepot के ARM,SM,RM को complaint की है @SureshChavhanke@Uppolice @myogiadityanath pic.twitter.com/sJLxTbTVdq
— Satyendra (@Satyend84351651) June 4, 2023
In the viral video, two Muslims can be seen performing Namaz on the road as other passengers protest against the conductor for stopping the bus. Meanwhile, the conductor is seen telling people not to do ‘Hindu-Muslim’. While the passengers expressed their concern over their safety as the bus was stopped during the night at a secluded place, the conductor said that they have stopped the bus out of ‘humanity’.
Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava, the assistant regional manager (ARM) of UPSRTC in Bareilly, was instructed by the regional manager to launch an investigation. As a result, driver Krishna Pal Singh was suspended and the conductor had his employment with UPSRTC terminated.
Meanwhile, Rampur police have also taken cognisance of the matter and said that they have initiated a probe as well. The police have stated that the probe of the case has been handed over to the Deputy SP of Milak Circle and that legal action will be taken.
“In the said case, the matter is being thoroughly investigated after talking to the driver and operator of the roadways bus shown in the tweet by the jurisdictional officer, Milak, after the investigation, necessary legal action will be taken,” Rampur police tweeted.
उक्त प्रकरण में क्षेत्राधिकारी मिलक द्वारा ट्वीट में दर्शाई गई रोडवेज बस के चालक व परिचालक से वार्ता कर मामले की गहनता से जांच की जा रही है, जांच उपरांत आवश्यक विधिक कार्यवाही की जाएगी ।
— Rampur police (@rampurpolice) June 5, 2023
Meanwhile, Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s national spokesperson Vinod Bansal has also demanded action on the matter as he tweeted, “It’s too much… Where are we moving to…@CMOfficeUP needs to look into it to save the precious time of passengers. How could a driver allow it???”
