On her way back home, the Class 12 student who filed a police complaint after the KSRTC conductor denied her free travel on the Priyadarshini bus, saying she looked like a boy, went through a similar experience.

“We returned home after filing the police complaint on another Priyadarshini bus. We met another conductor who also mistook my daughter for a boy because of her haircut and dressing. But he apologised as soon as I told him she was a girl,” recalled Suja (name changed), mother of the Class 12 student who was recently humiliated by another conductor on a different KSRTC Priyadarshini bus in Paravur, Ernakulam.

The girl faced mocking, abusive remarks and humiliation from the conductor, who initially refused to issue her a zero-value ticket, saying she “did not look like a girl”.

The student had completely shaved her head last January as an offering during a visit to the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. As her hair grew back, fellow passengers began asking if she had an illness, following which she trimmed and shaped the sides.

“But what happened now was harrowing. It was not just the conductor; a group of people joined in and harassed her and hurled abusive remarks,” Suja said. “Why can't he understand she is a girl? Just because she was wearing pants and a T-shirt and had short hair? He spoke to her and could clearly understand from her voice. She was wearing earrings, and her friends repeatedly told him she was a girl. He even said he couldn't check her gender by undressing her.”

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon on a Priyadarshini bus operating on the Guruvayur-Ernakulam route. The girl boarded from the Paravur KSRTC depot with four friends after attending a school function. They planned to get off at one of their friends’ houses.

The friends were seated separately, with the girl and another friend in front and the other three at the back. They had taken tickets for all five and informed the conductor that two girls were seated in front, asking him to alert them at their stop.

According to Suja, when the conductor reached her daughter, he asked her destination and issued a ₹15 ticket. When she pointed out that she was entitled to free travel as a woman under the Priyadarshini scheme, he replied that he did not think she was a girl.

After a brief argument, he issued a zero-value ticket but insisted that she pay for the first ticket. When she said she had no money, he asked her to get off the bus. She agreed, but he allegedly began laughing, making insulting remarks and involving other passengers.

“When the girls said they would file a police complaint, he even mocked them and offered to take them to the police station in the same bus,” Suja said.

According to the girls, only an elderly woman passenger supported them, while others joined in the abuse. The students eventually got off one stop before their destination. Suja alleged that the driver then stopped the bus, allowing passengers to continue confronting them.

As they got off, a male passenger approached and tried to attack them. The girls recorded the incident on their phones, which Suja said further provoked some passengers.

The student went to her friend’s house and called her mother, while the other girls informed their parents. “We parents were initially anxious about filing a case because we were worried about the consequences. But our daughters were adamant. All of them were ready to file a complaint. They contacted a lawyer, prepared the complaints and reached the Paravur police station by evening. The police, however, said one complaint would be enough,” Suja said.

The conductor and other accused persons were summoned to the police station on Sunday, where a case was registered over abusive language and acts insulting the dignity of a woman, police said.

Suja said the conductor initially denied doing anything wrong but apologised after realising that the girls would not withdraw the complaint. “They told him, ‘You are the one who brought us to the police station, and we won't withdraw the complaint.’ They are such bold girls despite being school students,” she said.

Another passenger who allegedly tried to attack the girls was also called to the station and, according to Suja, became aggressive there as well. Meanwhile, the girls spared a woman who had joined in the verbal abuse after learning that she was recovering from surgery and had mobility issues.

“All this happened on the same route they travel regularly. They have travelled on Priyadarshini buses many times. But the most pathetic part was that not even one person supported them except one woman. Everyone else supported the conductor. The driver also appeared to support him by stopping the bus and giving passengers time to humiliate the girls,” she said.

“My daughter usually wears pants and T-shirts and likes to keep her hair short. This was the first time she had completely shaved her head after growing up. She never expected to face such torment because of it. But what makes us proud is her determination. She went to school on Monday,” Suja said.

According to Suja, the girls’ response after filing the complaint surprised her further. Despite standing firm, they did not want the conductor’s family to suffer. “They said he too has a family, perhaps even a daughter, and they don't want his family to be ashamed or affected because of what happened to them,” she added.

The girl has a younger sister, who is a Class 10 student.
KSRTC suspended the accused conductor on Sunday after an internal inquiry found lapses on his part.