Hyderabad: In a bizarre incident, a man who allegedly stole a TSRTC bus from the Siddipet bus station on Sunday night and drove it until the passengers realised that he was not the original driver, was arrested on Tuesday.
He stole the bus, which is attached to the state-owned transport corporation, and escaped after collecting fare from passengers, police said.
The incident took place when the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus had stopped for a dinner break at the Siddipet bus stop on Monday. The vehicle was moving from Sircilla towards Jubilee Bus Station.
The accused, after seeing that the driver had gone for dinner, had boarded the bus and occupied the drivers’ seat and drove away.
The original driver was shocked to see the bus having disappeared and informed the higher authorities. The accused had taken the bus to a bay where the passengers waited to travel to Hyderabad.
After stealing the bus, he drove into a parking bay in the station, where he told passengers that the bus would be leaving for Hyderabad on Monday morning.
Soon he started towards Hyderabad as a good number of passengers had boarded the bus. However, curious about the absence of a conductor on the bus, the driver was questioned by the passengers midway.
The driver reportedly told them that the conductor would board the bus at the next station and haphazardly drove the vehicle.
This made the passengers wonder if he was actually an RTC driver. Meanwhile, the bus ran out of fuel and the driver had to stop the bus on the roadside.
Before the passengers could understand what was happening, he is said to have fled the spot.
TSRTC officials in Siddipet have lodged a complaint with the Police after a couple of passengers shot a video and pictures of the man (driver) on their mobile phones.
The police reportedly identified the imposter and have taken him into custody. An investigation is underway. The identity of the accused is yet to be announced by the police.
(With inputs from IANS)
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