New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) The Delhi Police investigation into the vandalism of DTC buses amid the drivers’ strike has uncovered a group that allegedly discussed attacks on buses, sources said on Monday.
Three people were allegedly operating the group, and investigators are now examining their role and identifying other members who were part of it, the sources said.
The police are scrutinising the group’s chat to ascertain whether conversations on the group were followed by actual incidents of vandalism in the city.
The probe has also revealed that several people identified in connection with damage to buses were contractors outsourced to work for the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), the sources said.
Whether these employees targeted the buses on their own or acted on the instructions of someone else is a part of the probe, they said.
In Kanjhawala and Begumpur, 12 people booked in two FIRs of bus vandalism were arrested.
In Dwarka, 17 cases related to damage to buses were registered, and five people arrested, the sources said.
More than 50 people have been detained and questioned under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act, they said.
The investigation has found a pattern in some of the incidents.
An FIR registered at Dwarka North Police Station on September 19 detailed the pattern.
According to the complaint filed by conductor Pramod Kumar, a bus was parked near Dwarka Main Metro Station when, at around 1.10 pm, an unidentified person arrived on a motorcycle and broke the rear-most glass on the right side of the bus and rode away.
Kumar told the police that he and driver Sandeep were inside the bus, so he could not note down the motorcycle’s registration number.
A case in this instance was registered under the BNS and provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, according to the FIR.
Initial information in several cases suggested that outsiders were responsible for attacking the buses, but CCTV analysis brought to the fore the involvement of some people associated with the transport system, the sources said.
The DTC drivers’ strike over wage hike, medical facilities and overtime payment, entered its eighth day on Monday. PTI SSJ VN VN
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