Mangaluru: A KSRTC bus conductor is feared drowned in the Kumaradhara River after he jumped off a bridge from a moving bus following an argument with a woman passenger over a trivial issue.
Devadas Shetty (42), a resident of Vamanjoor was working as a conductor in the KSRTC bus which was plying from Mangaluru to Subrahmanya temple. It is said that a woman passenger boarded the bus at Ambedkar Circle and bought a ticket for Kadaba after paying Rs 500. The quarrel kicked off when the bus conductor gave her change saying she had given only Rs 100. A heated argument led them to settle the altercation at the Kadaba police station. The police heard both and made the conductor pay the balance amount to the woman.
Soon after the bus continued its journey and the woman alighted at Kadaba. When the bus was on its way to Subrahmanya, Shetty jumped off the bus into the river near a bridge. He left a death note on his trip sheet, which reads: “It is better to die than live, after being humiliated. Goodbye to all my colleagues.”
According to sources, Shetty’s body could not be traced till Sunday evening. A missing complaint has been registered at Subrahmanya police station.
