The bus, with the route number 200, is equipped with modern facilities like the GPS. It is operating between the Madhavaram Intercity Bus Terminus and Tirupati.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A brand new air-conditioned bus, belonging to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), was driven away by an Odisha man from a depot near the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus at Koyambedu. Transport workers, aided by the police, tracked the bus near Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
The bus, with the route number 200, is equipped with modern facilities like the GPS. It is operating between the Madhavaram Intercity Bus Terminus and Tirupati. After a routine trip, the driver had left the bus in an idle parking area near the maintenance depot adjacent to the CMBT on Wednesday night. The driver came back the next morning to take the bus for a trip, but found it missing. He enquired with other drivers. As all were clueless, he reported the matter to the depot branch manager, who in turn alerted higher officials and the police.
Sources said the parking area was poorly guarded and the key of the bus was always kept on the dashboard. The bus was stolen by an unidentified person at 3.30 a.m. on Thursday. The theft came to light four hours later and it was reported to the CMBT police at 1.30 p.m.
The man who stole the bus was identified as Gnanasanjan Sahu, 24, of Cuttack, Odisha. He was arrested after interrogation.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The CMBT police registered a case on a complaint given by depot branch manager Ramsingh. Police sources said that with the help of the GPS, the bus was tracked near Nellore. The CMBT police alerted their Nellore counterparts, who stopped the bus during a vehicle check on a highway at 6.30 p.m. and took the person who was driving it into custody.
The CMBT police brought the person, along with the bus, to the city on Friday morning. He was identified as Gnanasanjan Sahu, 24, of Cuttack, Odisha. He was arrested after interrogation. As he was suffering from a hearing loss and a speech disorder, he wrote his answers on a piece of paper. He was a school dropout and working at a private company in Bengaluru. He came down from Bengaluru to the CMBT, chose the bus as its key was on the dashboard, and drove it away.
Published – September 12, 2025 09:47 pm IST
