A 24-year-old TGSRTC conductor who was allegedly pushed from a moving bus during a fare dispute died on November 3 after nearly 10 days of treatment, prompting the Telangana government to announce financial and other assistance for her family.
Gundla Pravalika, attached to the Manuguru depot in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, was on duty on a Palle Velugu bus travelling from Manuguru to Bhadrachalam on October 25 when the incident occurred near Mittagudem village in Aswapuram mandal.
According to the government press note, a passenger, Banoth Mounika, allegedly pushed Pravalika out of the bus following an argument over a ₹10 ticket for the passenger’s son and ₹90 change from a ₹100 note. Pravalika fell under the bus’s rear wheels and suffered severe injuries to both legs. She was first treated at Bhadrachalam and later shifted to a private hospital in Hyderabad.
Police initially registered an attempt-to-murder case and arrested the passenger. Following Pravalika’s death, the case was altered to murder under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the press note said.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressed condolences and directed relief for the family. The government and TGSRTC announced ₹10 lakh in ex-gratia assistance, an Indiramma house, a government job for Pravalika’s mother and ₹1 crore in accident insurance compensation through an RTC-linked bank initiative.
Pravalika had joined TGSRTC on compassionate grounds after her father’s death.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar paid tributes to her at the Osmania General Hospital mortuary and consoled her mother. He said the corporation had arranged medical treatment and urged the public to raise complaints against RTC staff with senior officials rather than take the law into their own hands.
TGSRTC employees in the Khammam region have held protests demanding justice. The government and the corporation said they would continue supporting the family and work to protect employees’ safety.
