Court issues notice to TVM Mayor Arya, MLA Sachin Dev in the KSRTC driver assault case

Thiruvananthapuram: Challenging the Kerala police decision to exclude Trivandrum outgoing Mayor Arya Rajendran and MLA Sachin Dev in connection with an incident where a KSRTC bus was stopped, the Thiruvananthapuram First Class Judicial Magistrate Court has issued notices to both of them based on a complaint filed by KSRTC driver Yadu.

The notices were issued on a petition challenging the police decision to exclude both of them from the charge sheet in connection with the incident in which a KSRTC bus was stopped in the middle of the road.

The police had filed a charge sheet excluding Arya Rajendran and her husband, Sachin Dev. The charge sheet included only a petty case against Arya Rajendran’s brother for stopping the bus.

At the same time, it was said that a chargesheet would soon be filed against bus driver Yadu for allegedly making obscene gestures at the Mayor.

KSRTC driver Yadu had a verbal tussle with Mayor Arya in April, 2024

The incident took place on April 27, 2024, near the Palayam Safalyam Complex. A private vehicle in which Arya and Sachin were travelling allegedly blocked the KSRTC bus driven by Yadu, following which an argument broke out.

Despite KSRTC driver Yadu filing a complaint against the Mayor and the MLA for allegedly obstructing his duty and using abusive language, the police initially did not register a case.

Later, acting on court directions, a case was registered naming Arya Rajendran, Sachin Dev, Arya’s brother Aravind, and Aravind’s wife as accused.

However, the police later filed the chargesheet excluding the former Mayor and the MLA, making only the Mayor’s brother, who was driving the car, an accused. The only charge was that the car was parked on the zebra crossing after stopping the bus.

The police concluded that the MLA boarded the bus only because the driver opened the door of the bus. They also stated that there was no witness testimony to support the allegation that the MLA used abusive language against the driver.

According to the police, the complaint of obstruction of duty would not stand as the KSRTC driver had allegedly deviated from the route. The police further found that Sachin Dev had only questioned the driver about the alleged obscene gesture.

Yadu stated that the police had been trying to protect Arya Rajendran from the beginning. While giving a clean chit to the former Mayor, the police upheld her complaint against Yadu, concluding that he had made an obscene gesture at her.

According to the Museum Police’s findings, this occurred when the vehicle in which Arya was travelling overtook the KSRTC bus. A chargesheet was filed against Yadu in this regard.

Meanwhile, the memory card containing the CCTV footage from the bus, which is a crucial piece of evidence in the case, has still not been recovered. The investigation into the missing card has also made no progress. Yadu had alleged that the card was hidden to protect the Mayor.