44 DTC, Cluster Buses Carry Migrant Amid Lockdown; FIR Filed

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A case has been registered in connection with the use of DTC and cluster buses to carry migrant workers leaving the city to Anand Vihar ISBT amid the lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak, police said on Wednesday, 1 April.

The case was registered at Shakarpur police station in East Delhi based on the complaint of a policeman.

“We have registered the case under various sections of IPC and the Disaster Management Act, 2005,” said a senior police officer.

"This act on the part of bus drivers/conductors and operations head of DIMTS C K Goyal and other government servants who are responsible for it, had committed an offence under Sections 269, 270, 271 and 188 of IPC and Section 55 of Disaster Management Act,” reads the FIR.

No reaction was immediately available from Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot.

The complainant was on picket duty at ITO bridge on Sunday when he saw 44 DTC and cluster buses ferrying migrant workers.

When enquired, the passengers said they were going to Anand Vihar Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) from where they will board the buses to their native places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, he said.

The passengers were briefed about COVID-19 and the lockdown, and the buses were sent back to the places from where they started.

According to the police, the buses originated from various parts of the city, including Badarpur, Vasant Vihar, Hari Nagar, Anand Parbat, Uttam Nagar, Manglapuri, Munirka and Punjabi Bagh.

"When drivers of these buses were asked why were they carrying passengers that too without issuing them tickets, they replied, 'upar se order hai' (there are orders from senior officers)," the complainant said.

The Delhi Integrated Multi Modal System (DIMTS), which operates cluster buses in the city, refused to comment on the episode.

The Centre had on Sunday suspended two senior Delhi government officers and served show-cause notices on two others for "serious lapses" in duty during the ongoing lockdown.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Contract Bus Association in a statement claimed that 50 to 60 buses of its members that were deployed to transport migrant workers, on the directions of government, were seized by the police.

The association appealed to the prime minister, home minister and Delhi chief minister to help the bus operators and get the buses released.