BEST bus driver assaulted for not stopping at Mumbai's Bandra (E) stop

MUMBAI: A BEST bus driver, Balwant Khanvilkar (52) was assaulted allegedly by three men for not stopping the bus at a stop at Bandra (E) Friday evening. The incident occurred when the three commuters allegedly chased the crowded AC bus and attacked the driver. One of them, Goraksh Sonawane (30), a Nerul resident, who alleged that the driver had not halted the bus at the stop.

The driver told TOI, "I am still to recover...The bus was crowded and the conductor signalled to go ahead. I did not notice commuters were running behind the bus..."
Senior inspector of Kherwadi police station, Pandurang Mulick said that the arrested man said he lost his temper when the bus did not halt at the stop.
The three assailants chased the bus, pounded on the door, demanding that it be opened, the police said. When their efforts went unheeded, they broke the windshield wiper and used it to shatter the glass on the driver's side, and tried to pull the driver out, police said.
The driver has stated that they struck him on the head, nose, and back, while abusing him, and saying that "BEST people cause trouble to the public."
BEST spokesperson Sunil Vaidyaappealed to the public not to assault bus drivers who are public servants.
However, a former BEST committee member blamed "unruly" drivers, saying some are "errant" and do not stop properly at stops, drive recklessly, and flout traffic rules, which angers the public and fellow motorists.
Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty commented on the incident, saying, "...People remove their angst on these drivers due to work pressure and other problems they are undergoing. The reason for attacks on BEST drivers is that many of them are rude and do not stop the bus at the desired stop and stop anywhere they wish..."