THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, May 1: Kerala police said on Wednesday that the memory card of the CCTV camera on the KSRTC bus, which was a vital evidence in the ongoing rift between the Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran and the driver, is missing.
A team of police personnel from the Cantonment station here examined the superfast bus parked at the KSRTC depot here but failed to retrieve the memory card which was expected to be vital proof in the raging row.
The mayor and her family on Saturday night got into a heated argument with the KSRTC bus driver after blocking the vehicle at Palayam junction.
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The mayor alleged that the driver made sexually suggestive gestures at them.
She claimed that the driver was rash and negligent, and they intervened after the bus was about to hit their car from behind.
The driver, HL Yadhu, however, had rejected the allegations levelled by her.
“A 64 GB memory card with the recorded visuals should have been there on the bus. There are three cameras inside the superfast bus. But the memory card is missing,” a police officer told the media.
However, the driver said the camera had been operational throughout the journey and was working even after the controversial incident.
He also expressed doubt that someone might have removed it.
“I have expected that there are chances for the visuals to be destroyed. Some passengers had recorded the entire incident, but the mayor’s husband, MLA Sachin Dev, forced them to delete everything,” he told TV channels.
He also wanted authorities to recover the memory card as it is vital evidence to prove that he had not done anything wrong.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA M Vincent alleged that the memory card might have been taken away by the KSRTC authorities themselves.
“The bus has been under the custody of the KSRTC so far. The police are also acting to protect the real culprits. They have not even recorded the statements of the passengers in the bus,” he alleged.
Vincent also alleged that the police had a clear directive from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the home department to protect the mayor and her husband.
The revelation by the police about the missing memory card comes at a time when the controversy over a misbehaviour complaint lodged by Rajendran against the KSRTC driver has taken a political colour.
On Tuesday, a group of Youth Congress activists staged a protest demonstration against the mayor outside the Corporation complex here, while the BJP councillors of the civic body boycotted the council meeting by raising the issue.
However, the ruling CPI(M) councillors extended all their support to Rajendran at the meeting.
Rajendran, who got emotional during the council meeting, said the elected representatives are also ordinary persons and they also have families.
She said she and her family had tried to raise their voice against the wrong tendency, but the media has reported things against her.
The mayor also said she has been subjected to cyberbullying over the incident and alleged that the mainstream media has ignored it.
Two days ago, Kerala Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar sought a report from the KSRTC managing director in connection with a complaint lodged by Rajendran alleging that the driver misbehaved with her and her family.
The KSRTC authorities had also asked the driver not to report for duty. (PTI)
