Nine BMTC officials suspended for taking bribe to assign drunk drivers to duty

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has suspended nine officials following allegations that they accepted bribes from drivers reporting to duty under the influence of alcohol.

Suspension orders have been issued pending inquiry, BMTC officials confirmed. According to a senior BMTC official, the case came to light at BMTC Depot-35, where a few drivers of electric buses allegedly reported to work intoxicated.

“An internal investigation is going on into this allegation that some officials were taking bribes running into several thousand rupees from such drivers to allow them to be assigned duty, in violation of safety and operational rules,” an official said.

As per BMTC regulations, depot authorities are required to conduct mandatory alcohol checks before assigning drivers to duty. Any driver found intoxicated must be immediately barred from operating a bus, according to the official.

The incident comes amid ongoing scrutiny of BMTC’s electric bus operations.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy recently raised serious concerns over the “poor performance and lack of accountability” of private operators managing electric buses under the gross cost contract (GCC) model. In a letter to the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, Mr. Reddy highlighted rising accidents, frequent breakdowns, driver strikes, and mounting passenger complaints linked to the electric bus fleet.