Drug peddling vis KSRTC buses exposes loopholes in present system

Bengaluru: Police officials on Wednesday, August 11 arrested two Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) employees and recovered 10 kg of marijuana from them.

The accused are identified as Vittal Bajantri, 32, and Sharanabasappa, 40, driver and bus conductors from Vijayapura.

The accused used to source the drug from their native town and sell it to their customers in the city. They claim that they started peddling drugs two months ago, but the police suspect that they are established players.

The accused smuggled marijuana in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses. The case has now exposed various loopholes in the department.

There are no checkpoints or proper equipments in the bus stands to check the parcels. Also, the transport department lacks the necessary facilities to scan the packages or verify the details of the sender or receiver.

A senior staff of KSRTC said, “Further investigations are on to ascertain the source of drugs and the peddling network. We are conducting a department-level investigation. However, with the current system, it is impossible to keep a tab on the illegal transport of goods.”

What can be done?

There is a separate department in the KSRTC to keep a tab on ticket-free travel. Similarly, the government must form a team and direct officials to conduct random checking at several places. Also, the staff must keep an eye on those who travel on the same route regularly. Department must also identify ‘hotspots’ of drug peddling rackets and conduct regular inspections.