Sunil Bangera

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Feb 4: In an incident which happened at the main bus stand at Mulky on Tuesday February 3, three auto rickshaw drivers assaulted the driver of a private express bus and threatened him of taking away his life.

Abdul Shukkur (32), a resident of Suratkal Chokkabettu, who happened to be the driver of the said bus, was at the receiving end of this attack, while the attackers have been identified as Santosh Shetty (32) from Hejamady, Wilfred D'Souza (28), who lives at Kollur near Kavathar, Mulky, and Kishore Shetty (31) from Kavathar. All the three stand arrested by Mulky police relating to this incident.

It is said that a patient, who was in need of urgent treatment, was being taken to a hospital in an auto rickshaw, when a private express bus moving between Mangaluru and Udupi came menacingly close to the three-wheeler. The auto rickshaw driver, in an attempt to avoid getting hit by the bus, veered his vehicle to the left side, after which his vehicle came to a stop after leaning over the roadside mud wall. Angered by this turn of events, the three auto rickshaw drivers came to Mulky bus stand and attacked the driver at fault, besides posing him life threat, it is learnt.

As the incident occurred in the busy bus stand at Mulky, hundreds of onlookers gathered to watch the fight. Mulky police rushed to the spot and restored law and order. The injured bus driver was admitted into a private hospital in Suratkal, while the three accused were produced in Moodbidri court, policemen said.