In fact the incident reminds us how cruelty against women is spreading all over including in running buses in highways. It is unbelievable that the driver and supervisor of a transport company, which is rated as one of the best private sector transport operators tortured the girl physically and mentally on the long journey to the capital and when the bus reached Gabtoli terminal, they also tried to kidnap her in a CNG auto rickshaw, which she narrowly escaped. A case has been lodged in this connection.
We must say it is quite menacing to the safety of women travelling in night coaches throughout the year. There is no secret of the fact that criminals and unruly elements in the society and particularly such people running transport vehicles are becoming more desperate in a political environment in which the government’s grip on law and order is only slipping out of hands. We have Highway police, but they are of no use; police have the check points on the Highway but criminals in the bus remain out of sight.
Most such elements mostly associated with ruling party backed transport workers’ union feel that they are above the reach of the law and indulging in the crime including sexual harassment, drug peddling and women trafficking. Another incident of sexual harassment in running bus was also reported last year involving yet another university student while she was travelling alone to Dhaka to Manikgonj. It was also widely reported but the recurrence of similar incident suggests criminals in the transport sectors are moving unimpeded.
Some serious incidents of rape and sexual harassment of university students in Delhi few years back caused uproar in public forum and national media and the Indian Supreme Court dealt with deaths sentence to some of those criminals. We must say our human rights organizations must take the issue seriously and law enforcers should increase vigilance in this respect. Our young women must be safe in our cities and Highways.
In our view, the inter-district motor transport association should take the issue of safety of women in their transport vehicles through internal disciplinary measures. They must screen their drivers and supervisors and act quickly to mitigate complaints against anyone of them. Without stringent action transport industry will suffer the setback.
