AGRA/BAREILLY: In a corner of the brick-and-mud house with chipping balustrade that Mohit Yadav called his home in Mainpuri’s Nagla Khushali village, there is a small wooden shrine before which he prayed every morning. Towards the end, as Mohit hurtled to his death, unable to deal with his joblessness after UPSRTC terminated his contract as a bus conductor following complaints in June that he had stopped the vehicle for two minutes to allow Muslim passengers to offer namaz, he felt his gods had deserted him.
“My husband was depressed after losing his job,” Mohit’s young wife Rinki told TOI on Tuesday, a day after police found his body at the railway tracks. “There was very little money to run the house…so many people to take care of. After the incident in June, his salary of Rs 17,000 was stopped and we were suddenly struggling for even basic needs. He was not able to sleep and became weak. The family was dependent on his income… Mohit paid a price for his humanity.”
Surrounded by men and women from the village who sat with her as she grieved for her husband, Rinki said, “UPSRTC officials, especially regional manager Deepak Chaudhary who used to call and humiliate him, are responsible for his death… Mohit paid a price for his humanity.”
Mohit had been shocked and left confused after the UP roadways department took action against him two months ago, unable to fathom what it was that he had done wrong. In a video a TOI correspondent had then recorded — which was circulated widely on Tuesday — Mohit had said, “I stopped the bus thinking it’s just two minutes. Let them offer namaz. At the same time, some people also got down to relieve themselves. No one complained about that.”
Mohit, who was suspended within two days of the bus-halt episode on June 3, was the eldest of four siblings and the only one with a regular income in the family of eight. “Bhaiya was chirpy and jovial by nature but had almost stopped talking,” said Mohit’s younger brother Manoj, 18. “ He pursued the matter with authorities but no one bothered. Our sister was to get married this year.”
Sources in UPSRTC said a senior official had recently told Mohit that his job couldn’t be saved. Though the driver of the bus, KP Singh, was also penalised, he has been able to retain his job with a 50% salary cut.
Additional regional manager, UPSRTC, SK Srivastava, told TOI, “Mohit’s application for arbitration (contract renewal) came to us in July. A report was sent to the regional manager and it was pending with him.”
Chaudhary said, “We have over 2,500 contractual employees. I’m not specifically aware of his application.”
“My husband was depressed after losing his job,” Mohit’s young wife Rinki told TOI on Tuesday, a day after police found his body at the railway tracks. “There was very little money to run the house…so many people to take care of. After the incident in June, his salary of Rs 17,000 was stopped and we were suddenly struggling for even basic needs. He was not able to sleep and became weak. The family was dependent on his income… Mohit paid a price for his humanity.”
Surrounded by men and women from the village who sat with her as she grieved for her husband, Rinki said, “UPSRTC officials, especially regional manager Deepak Chaudhary who used to call and humiliate him, are responsible for his death… Mohit paid a price for his humanity.”
Mohit had been shocked and left confused after the UP roadways department took action against him two months ago, unable to fathom what it was that he had done wrong. In a video a TOI correspondent had then recorded — which was circulated widely on Tuesday — Mohit had said, “I stopped the bus thinking it’s just two minutes. Let them offer namaz. At the same time, some people also got down to relieve themselves. No one complained about that.”
Mohit, who was suspended within two days of the bus-halt episode on June 3, was the eldest of four siblings and the only one with a regular income in the family of eight. “Bhaiya was chirpy and jovial by nature but had almost stopped talking,” said Mohit’s younger brother Manoj, 18. “ He pursued the matter with authorities but no one bothered. Our sister was to get married this year.”
Sources in UPSRTC said a senior official had recently told Mohit that his job couldn’t be saved. Though the driver of the bus, KP Singh, was also penalised, he has been able to retain his job with a 50% salary cut.
Additional regional manager, UPSRTC, SK Srivastava, told TOI, “Mohit’s application for arbitration (contract renewal) came to us in July. A report was sent to the regional manager and it was pending with him.”
Chaudhary said, “We have over 2,500 contractual employees. I’m not specifically aware of his application.”