Moga Death: AAP, CTU union halt Orbit buses, lay siege to depot

A 13-year-old girl was allegedly molested and thrown off to her death from one of the Orbit buses three days ago.

Due to the protest, those using the bus service were forced to make impromptu travel arrangements to reach their destinations.

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The company was running limited buses Saturday as the protesters had intimated the authorities Friday about the possibility of a protest.

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Only four buses of the company arrived at Sector 43-ISBT.

Initially, protesters stopped the buses from entering the premises of the bus depot but later allowed them to station inside. However, they prevented the Orbit authorities at the ticket counters from selling their tickets to passengers and also stopped those with tickets from boarding the buses.

“My family has already paid for tickets to Pathankot. However, the protesters barred the Orbit buses from plying. Left with no alternative, we had to purchase new tickets from PUNBUS and pay the extra amount,” said Mandeep Singh, a resident of Samba.

Some passengers though agreed with the cause did not want protesters to stop the buses from plying. “The incident is unfortunate and people need to raise their voices. But they (protesters) shouldn’t create nuisance for others,” said Vikramjeet Mallik, a resident of Fazilka.

Orbit Aviation, co-owned by the Badal family, have come under scrutiny following the incident. According to sources, in many parts of Punjab, including Mohali, the Orbit buses were plying under heavy security.

The AAP workers and CTU union, protesters demanded registration of a case against the bus owners in which the alleged molestation took place. AAP workers also claimed the bus company did not have the requisite legal clearance to ply in the city.

Many protesters were holding placards which stated that the Orbit company should face similar consequences as taxi company Uber where a woman was raped by a driver of the company.

AAP workers were also seen burning effigies of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The protesters said that soon after the incident, the Delhi government banned all app-based taxi services, questioned Uber on the process of selection of drivers, screened the staff and harassed the management through notices.

Police had filed an FIR against Uber for ‘cheating’ customers on the pretext of providing safe commuting and reliable drivers. Why has the Punjab police not initiated any action against the authorities.”