Schedule Blamed For Bus Driver Attempted Sickle-Murder/Suicide

Last Friday morning a Mumbai bus driver poisoned himself with pesticide and then walked into his bus depot. He asked his two superiors for a snack, pulled out a sickle, and brutally stabbed both in a horrifying attempted double murder suicide.

All three men (including the attacker Shankar Mane) survived, Shane being restrained and then slumping unconscious from the poison.

What could have caused the attack? Several unions believe that a new computerized schedule is at fault, the Times of India reports. Mane's wife stated he had never had an outburst in their two years of marriage, but he was increasingly stressed over the past month not only from their newborn daughter, but from work. "Whenever he asked for specific shifts, he was denied. He was also made to work during his break a few times."

Several unions believe that new computerized schedules may be at fault. The bus company that Mane worked for deny these claims, but the Times of India's report on the exact events of the day start with a conflict over a new, rigid schedule.

The police said Mane arrived at the Mumbai Central bus depot around 6.15am. "When he went to the room of starters (duty schedulers), he realized the bus conductor he was working with had been assigned to another bus. Mane insisted on the same conductor, but the starters—Ratan Shedge (55) and Dilip Dongre (55)—refused. He was given another conductor," said senior police inspector N K Mehtar.

Threatening to quit BEST, Mane walked off the depot. Around 9am, he returned to the schedulers' room, where Shelge, Dongre and two others were sitting. He asked if they had "chai nashta" and swiftly pulled out a sickle, assaulting Shelge and Dongre viciously. Luckily, he was soon overpowered by a traffic inspector.

Mane has been charged for attempted murder and attempted suicide and is currently recovering in the hospital, continuing to scream the names of his superiors while he recovers in intensive care.

Remind me to be very kind to my next bus driver.

Photo Credit: Unsighted Sightings (BEST bus pictured)