4 students assault bus driver over ₹10 fare dispute in Gurugram, nabbed

Four students from an industrial training institute (ITI) in Sector-14 were arrested for allegedly assaulting a co-driver of a Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) vehicle after a dispute over a ₹10 ticket fare, police said on Monday. 

The accused were identified as Mohit Kumar, Kartik, Sunny Kumar, and Sourav Singh, all residing in Farrukhnagar, police said,adding that their ages ranged from 19 to 21. 

According to police, the incident occurred on Friday around 4pm when eight students boarded bus number 116E, which operates between Millenium City Centre Metro Station and Gurugram Railway Station, at the ITI bus stop in Sector 14. Investigators stated that the students purchased ₹10 tickets to Jacobpura in Sector 12 but refused to alight when the co-driver, Lalaram Singh, asked them to. 

A senior police officer said a heated argument ensued, but Singh ignored the students, advising them to buy tickets for the correct fare or opt for monthly passes. “The students finally got off at the last stoppage near the railway station. Singh and driver Rajesh Kumar parked the bus and went to a shop for tea,” the officer said. 

The officer added that a group of students, including those from the bus, gathered at the shop and assaulted Singh with rods and stones. Singh alleged that some students hit him on the head with stones, causing deep wounds. “They had kept their faces covered,” Singh alleged. 

Inspector Kuldeep Singh, the station house officer of the Sector 9A police station, said that shop owners and the bus crew caught one of the suspects as they were fleeing and made him call his accomplices. “Two more suspects arrived and were handed over to the police when they reached the spot. A fourth suspect was arrested on Sunday. More arrests are expected,” he added. 

Following Singh’s complaint, an FIR was registered under Sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 190 (unlawful assembly), 191(2) (rioting), 324(2) (mischief), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Sector 9A police station on Saturday.