Two schoolgirls suffered injuries on Monday after they jumped off a moving bus allegedly fearing for their safety following unwelcome stares from a fellow passenger and certain comments from the conductor, in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh, police said.
Damoh Superintended of Police, Shrutkirti Somwanshi told The Hindu that four persons, including the bus driver and conductor, were and an FIR was filed against them. He said that the girls were receiving treatment at a hospital.
According to the police, the girls — students of class 9 — took a bus in the morning from their village under Tejgarh police station limits to the school in Touri village, about 10 kilometres away.
“The girls have told us that a man in his 60s was staring at them and the conductor shut the rear door after a passenger got off the bus. Fearing about their safety, they jumped off the moving bus and fell,” Mr. Somwanshi said.
He, however, said that this could be a case of “panic action” and that the police would record the girls’ statements in front of a magistrate on Tuesday.
“After the girls jumped, the men did not flee and the bus was at the spot for about 1.5 hours. Some other people took the girls to a hospital,” he said, adding that more relevant charges would be added to the case based on the investigation.
Tejgarh police station in-charge Abhishek Patel said that the girls had mistakenly taken the wrong bus instead of the one they usually travelled in.
“They are also saying that the conductor also passed some comments to them and the driver did not immediately stop the bus when they asked him to,” he said.
“The girls are yet to tell us what exactly the conductor said to them. More things will be clear after we have recorded their statements,” Mr. Patel added.
Published – February 11, 2025 03:05 am IST
