Bus conductor booked for molesting, trying to rape woman on Nagpur-Mandla route

A conductor with a private travel operator has been booked for molesting a 21-year-old woman and attempting to rape her aboard a bus travelling from Nagpur towards Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh. Sitabuldi police have registered a case against him under Section 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and other relevant sections and have opened an investigation, though the accused has not yet been identified or arrested.

The woman is a resident of Mandla who works as domestic help for a family in Nagpur. On the night of September 7, she boarded a Vijayant Travels bus, registration number MH-40/AK-6699, from the MP bus stand in Nagpur at around 10:30 pm, intending to travel to her village, Binjhiya, in Mandla district to meet her family. She was travelling alone.

As the bus moved through the night and most of the other passengers dozed off, it passed through a deserted stretch of road. Police said the conductor noticed the woman was by herself and began misbehaving with her, passing lewd and objectionable remarks. He is then accused of forcibly placing his hand on her chest and, despite her resistance, grabbing both her legs in an attempt to force himself on her.

The woman fought back and raised a loud alarm, at which point the conductor backed off. She went on to complete her journey to Mandla without further incident.

She did not approach the police immediately after reaching her village. It was only when she returned to Nagpur, nearly a fortnight later, that she told the family employing her what had happened. On September 15, she went to Sitabuldi police station along with members of that family and lodged a written complaint. Acting on it, police registered the case the same day.

Investigators have not yet established the identity of the conductor. Police are now seeking details from the bus operator and the travel agency concerned, including staff rosters, ticket booking records and the route taken that night, in an effort to determine who was on duty on the bus at the time and trace the accused.

Officers at Sitabuldi police station said further facts about the incident, including the conductor's identity, are expected to emerge once he is traced and questioned. The investigation is ongoing, and police have indicated that legal action will follow once the probe is complete.