LAHORE: A private transport company had to sack a conductor who pushed a woman off a bus when she was trying to board the vehicle at a terminal here on Friday (Nov 13), after a video of the episode went viral, grabbing the attention of the Punjab government.
Some passersby recorded video of the incident and shared it on social media, triggering public outrage and the government’s reaction.The video shows the woman was trying to board the bus when the conductor pushed her. It shows the woman again attempting to enter the bus, but the conductor pushes her off the vehicle. This time, she falls onto a parked motorcycle.
Social media users condemned the conductor’s behaviour and demanded action against him, as well as the transport company – Faisal Movers Group.
Taking notice of the incident, Punjab Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Bilal Akbar Khan said the conductor had been sacked by the transport company.
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This is a serious injustice. The conductor has been dismissed from his job. The Transport Department condemns the conductor’s inappropriate behaviour and apologises for it. No one has the right to humiliate another person,” the minister said in a post on X, sharing a termination letter issued by Faisal Movers Group’s human resources department on Nov 13, sacking the conductor.
According to the letter, the company terminated the services of Ali Rizwan, an employee deployed at BRT Lahore, with immediate effect, on disciplinary grounds.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also took notice of the incident, saying dismissal from service was not sufficient. She directed the police to take further action against the conductor.
“He [conductor] was not employed to push members of the public around. He should be apprehended, taken to the woman’s home and made to apologise publicly,” she said in a post on X.
She added that as the incident took place in Lahore, directives have been issued to DIG Faisal Kamran for further action. - Dawn/ANN
