Karnataka: Girl runs away due to exam phobia, rescued from bus

SHIVAMOGGA: Timely intervention by a retired KSRTC officer and the crew of a bus saved a runaway girl from landing in troubles in Shivamogga on Monday. The II PU student had ran away from Shivamogga to Madikeri to avoid writing her final exams due to phobia .


The student, Lalita (name changed), a resident of a remote village, 30 kilometres from Shivamogga town, had her Chemistry exam on Monday.

However, she developed exam phobia and decided to run away to Madikeri. She got into a Madikeri-bound bus at Shivamogga bus station.

On the bus, she was spotted by a retired KSRTC officer, who was travelling with his wife. The couple developed suspicion about her behaviour inside the bus and alerted its crew.

Later speaking to TOI, HS Siddesh Siddanamata, traffic inspector, said the girl was sitting next to a retired KSRTC officer and his wife. Once the bus started moving, she developed fear and started behaving indifferently. When the couple spoke to her, she revealed her mind and told them that she was too scared to appear for her exam. “Immediately they alerted me. Once the bus reached Bhadravati, we convinced her to get down and return to Shivamogga,” he said.

“After reaching the Shivamogga, we alerted SP M Ashwini. A woman police officer arrived at the bus stand and counselled her. She revealed her phobia to her as well,” he said.

“The girl had no idea about Madikeri town. Neither she had any relatives in Madikeri. She came with a few pairs of clothes. She blindly got into the bus. After hearing her in detail, we contacted her parents. Later we sent her back to the village,” said Siddesh.

“The girl said she was under tremendous pressure because of the fear of getting poor marks in the examination. She told us that if she scored less marks, her family would be embarrassed in the village,” he said.