Drunk man drives away KSRTC bus in Kollam; chased and nabbed by police

Punalur (Kollam): A young man was arrested after he took a KSRTC bus for driving. The arrested is Bineesh (23) from the Urukunnu region in Thenmala.

The incident occurred at midnight on Thursday in Punalur. The person took an ordinary bus that was parked on the side of the national highway near the depot.

The highway police, who were conducting a vehicle check at TB Junction, 150 metres east of the depot, intercepted the attempt to drive away the bus. They grew suspicious when they saw the bus driving down the national highway without headlights and stopped it by waving it down. The man tried to escape after getting off the bus but was caught after a chase.

The KSRTC station master had filed a police complaint about the bus theft in the night itself. The police said that the accused, a lorry driver, was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

The bus in question is Venad edition, which operates via Kokkad to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital at 6 AM every day.

Due to space constraints at the depot, many buses are parked on the road, making it easier for thefts to occur. Similar incidents of bus thefts have occurred previously in Kottarakkara and Kollam.