Kochi bus cleaner, who threatened motorists, rearrested after backlash over station bail; stricter charges to be added

Kochi: Ernakulam Town North police have rearrested private bus cleaner Mohammed Ansar, a day after he was granted station bail in a case in which he allegedly assaulted a police officer who had gone to take him into custody. Police sources said stringent, non-bailable provisions will now be added to the case, with steps being taken to produce him before court for judicial remand.

The action follows strong social media backlash and news reports questioning the decision of the Ernakulam North Police to release Ansar on station bail. Police sources said some policemen were also disappointed with the earlier decision.

Ansar, a native of Kannur currently residing in Kakkanad, works as a cleaner on a private bus in the city.

The first case relates to an August 9 incident involving an expatriate named Shaji Joseph and his family. According to the complaint and police records, the family was travelling by car when the bus overtook them and stopped abruptly after a passenger was allowed to get down at Kaloor. When Joseph questioned the manner of driving and honked, Ansar allegedly got down and confronted the family.

A video of the incident that later circulated widely shows Ansar standing in front of the car with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He blocked the vehicle, tried to open its door, banged on the bonnet and windscreen, and abused and threatened the occupants.

Though a complaint had been lodged with the Ernakulam North Police, action gathered pace after the video emerged, which received wide criticism on social media. When a police team went to take Ansar into custody directly from the bus from Kacherippady, he allegedly resisted and attacked an Assistant Sub-Inspector.

According to the FIR, Ansar pushed the ASI on the chest, wrestled him to the ground and elbowed him in the face, causing an injury to his lip.

However, he was initially booked only under Section 117(e) of the Kerala Police Act, a bailable provision, and was released on station bail after the bus operator reached the police station.

The decision triggered widespread criticism, with questions being raised over the lenient treatment of the bus employee.

The controversy also brought another road-rage complaint against Ansar to the attention of the police.

Following this, Thrikkakara police on September 6 registered another FIR based on the complaint by Rejins CB of Padamugal, he filed last month.

According to the complaint, Rejins was driving his car from Palarivattom towards Kakkanad around 5.15 pm on August 22 when Ansar's bus approached from behind, honking repeatedly. The bus overtook from the left, abruptly cut in and blocked the road.

When Rejins honked in protest, Ansar got down, demanded that he lower the window, abused him, made obscene gestures and repeatedly banged on the car’s bonnet before walking away.

Rejins had approached police on the same day of the incident. The police had summoned the bus and imposed a fine on it, but no separate case was registered against Ansar then. The fresh FIR was registered under Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint) and 296(b) (obscene acts and songs) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

With the Kaloor incident going viral and people starting to criticise the police, Kochi City Police Commissioner Kalaraj Mahesh Kumar defended the police action while assuring that there would be no lapse.

“When it was initially attended to, we did not have a complaint. Then, after we received the video and understood the full gravity and seriousness of the situation, we registered a suo motu case. Both cases registered by the police were suo motu cases. Now that another complaint has been received, strong action will be taken based on that as well. There will be no lapse in that,” he said.

Police teams traced Ansar in Kochi on Monday and took him back into custody. Police sources said stringent provisions will now be incorporated in the case relating to the alleged assault on the ASI.