Travelling in the boot of a bus for 1,000 kms!
This was not some stunt performed under supervision by risk experts but a bus journey undertaken by an ordinary passenger from Mumbai to Bengaluru.
The man, who is reported to be in his 30s, slept in the boot of the multi-axle Volvo bus amidst carton boxes for over 18 hours.
The only option for him to breathe was through the door-lock, and he had managed to avoid getting suffocated by doing that.
The incident came to light on Wednesday morning when RTO officials flagged down the private bus near Gorguntepalya as part of a drive against illegal transportation of luggage in buses.
Motor-vehicle inspector Kariyappa told Bangalore Mirror: “We stopped the bus to check carrying of luggage in passenger vehicle. When the conductor was directed to open the luggage door, we found a man sleeping in the tiny space over the bags and carton boxes. He was actually locked from the outside.”
After the conductor opened the door the man immediately got up and fled from the scene. Kariyappa said the crew of the bus had endangered the life of the man by allowing him to travel by sleeping in the luggage area. They did it for the money and the management of the bus is not aware of the practice, he said.
“These kind of practices may be happening for a long time; the crew did it to earn a few extra bucks,” he said. The vehicle has been seized and parked at the BMTC depot.
It can be recalled that in fire accident last year, a person sleeping in the luggage space of air-an conditioned bus was charred to death after private bus caught fire.
During the drive on Wednesday, officials seized 50 buses for violating permit norms and carrying inflammable article in passenger vehicles. The drivers were carried out in areas like Gorguntepalya, Yeshwanthpur, Sumanahalli, Hebbal and Majestic area.
The officials also found that private operators are illegally operating vehicles without permits. “A bus owner had got a permit to operate vehicle as factory vehicle. But he altered the vehicle and turned it to a sleeper coach and started operating as passenger vehicle between Bangalore and Bellary. He is a habitual offender and we have seized his vehicle.”
