Kochi police yet to complete verification of private bus employees

KOCHI The Kochi City police’s special drive to conduct background verification of private bus employees and issue them special identity cards is yet to be completed, even two months after the initiative was launched. The police, according to sources, are planning to issue the ID cards by next week, though they admitted that a final decision on how to proceed with the drive was yet to be taken. Earlier, the police had planned to complete the process within a few weeks in September and then by the end of October, but the initial plan could not be implemented.

An officer involved in the process said the verification of over 1,500 employees, including drivers and conductors, had been completed. It is roughly estimated that around 2,000 employees work as bus crew in the city. Bus employees were asked to submit their personal details to the police in a pro forma for verification.

The police launched the background verification drive in response to a series of incidents involving alleged criminal behaviour by private bus employees in recent times.