Sabarimala pilgrims dropped in forest with elephant, leopard and tiger; KSRTC driver dismissed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/PAMBA: Action has been taken on a complaint that the driver of a KSRTC bus ousted a group of women and children who had returned from the Sabarimala pilgrimage in the dense forest at night. N Sajikumar, the driver of the Poovar depot who was driving the bus, has been dismissed from service. Conductor KN Premasuthan has been transferred to the Kanhangad unit.

Ayyappa devotees, including women, who had returned from Sabarimala darshan were supposed to be dropped off at the Nilakkal bus stand. The vigilance department, which investigated the complaint, had found that they were dropped off at night on the road after Nilakkal Gopuram instead. The devotees had to walk to the bus stand. The order stated that the action was taken because it was clear that the action taken by the KSRTC employees had tarnished the reputation of KSRTC.

The 13-member group from Kollam included people aged between eight and 78. They had come for darshan in a 17-seater traveller. Vehicles with more than 14 seats are not allowed to enter Pampa. After parking the traveller at the parking ground in Nilakkal, the devotees went to Pampa in a KSRTC bus. After darshan, they returned to Pampa at around 10 pm on the 17th. At 10.30, they boarded the JN 627 bus from Pampa to Thiruvananthapuram. The pilgrims said that the conductor had informed them that the bus would stop at the Nilakkal stand. However, the bus did not enter the stand. Despite being asked to stop, the bus continued on the road for more than half a kilometre.

The conductor and other passengers then asked the driver to stop the bus and take the pilgrims back to Nilakkal. The driver said that he will not take the vehicle back to Nilakkal, no matter what, as the pilgrims had raised their voices. With this, the pilgrims got off the bus and entered the forest without any other option. This was the region where the elephant, leopard and tiger were present. The pilgrims reached the spot on foot in fear. Video footage of the incident was released.