TSRTC Denies Driver's Allegations

TSRTC authorities today said that there was no truth in the reports that Shankar, a driver of the Devarakonda depot in Nalgonda district, had attempted suicide due to harassment by RTC officials refusing to grant him leave.

In a statement, they said that the driver was absent from duty on April 18 and 19 without prior intimation, and that on April 20 duty was assigned by officials to the driver.

They said that the depot officials were again approached by him for a holiday on Sunday, and that the officials told him that they would look at the leave position and let him know if he could be granted leave, but did not decline leave.

The authorities said that on Saturday, Shankar shared a selfie video on WhatsApp in which he claimed that he was being harassed by the authorities by not being granted leave, and that he was drinking pesticide.

"The depot officials immediately rushed to the spot and took him to a local hospital. The doctors confirmed that the driver had not consumed any pesticide, and discharged him. At present, Shankar is safe at his home. Shankar was involved in the incident deliberately. In the past, too, there have been threats by him to officials over holidays. His leave record is not good. In the last three months, Shankar has taken 10 regular leaves and 20 sick leaves," the authorities said.

The authorities asserted that the corporation was running as per its rules in the matter of granting leaves to staff. They also said that the TSRTC would not ignore such incidents which damaged the reputation of the corporation, and that such incidents would be investigated thoroughly and departmental action taken against all those responsible.