Conductor Booked For Questioning Student’s Gender in Keralam 'Free Ticket'

The Police have registered a case against a KSRTC conductor for allegedly insulting a Plus Two student by questioning her gender and issuing her a ticket on a Priyadarshini bus, on which women can travel free of charge, at North Paravur here, officials said on Monday.

The conductor, Mahesh, was also suspended following a preliminary inquiry by the KSRTC Vigilance wing. According to police, the incident occurred last Saturday when the girl and her friends boarded the bus operating from North Paravur to Kochi. 

The girl, who had



tonsured her head after visiting a temple, was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. The conductor allegedly mistook her for a boy and issued her a Rs 15 ticket.

When she requested a zero-value ticket, the conductor allegedly made insulting remarks, asking how he was supposed to know she was a girl, police said. 

A case was registered on Sunday under Sections 296 and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to obscene acts in public and words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman, respectively, police said.