Man’s inappropriate behavior on bus thwarted by courageous girl in southern India
by Komal KashyapLocation Ernakulam district, southern India's Kerala. Date: 2023-05-16
A man allegedly misbehaved with a woman on a bus in southern India’s Kerala.
The incident took place at Athani on the national highway in Ernakulam district on May 16.
Visuals showed a young man sitting on a bus, and engaging in inappropriate behavior by opening his pants’ zipper. At that moment, a courageous girl standing nearby intervened and began shouting at him. The bus conductor, upon witnessing the situation, asked the young man to leave the bus. In response, the unruly young man pushed the conductor and quickly fled from the scene.
The alleged incident, which took place on Tuesday, came to light after Nandita Sankara, a native of Thrissur district, lodged a complaint and shared the purported videos of the alleged incident on her Instagram account. In the video, Nandita alleged that the accused had “unzipped his pants” and was “masturbating” while travelling in a KSRTC bus.
The accused has been identified as Savad Shah (27), a native of Kozhikode.Nandita was going to Ernakulam for a movie shoot. Savad boarded this bus from Angamaly, police said.
According to the police, the accused Savad was sitting between Nandita and another female passenger in a three-tier seat. “After the bus left Angamaly, the accused started misbehaving with the woman. Initially, Nandita ignored it. After some time, Nandita got irritated when the accused attempted to misbehave with her,” police said.
“When the bus stopped at the traffic signal in Athani, he jumped out and ran. The conductor tried to catch him but Savad Shah ran away. Locals and other travellers caught him later. He was later handed over to Nedumbassery police,” they said.
In response to Nandita’s complaint and the video evidence she provided, the police swiftly took action, arresting Savad Shah for his lewd behaviour and misconduct on the bus. Following his arrest, he was produced before the court in Ernakulam, which remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.
The incident has sparked outrage and renewed calls for greater safety measures and stricter punishment for perpetrators of such crimes. It serves as a reminder of the importance of creating a safe environment for women in public spaces and the need for vigilance in addressing incidents of harassment and assault.
