Alappuzha (Kerala) | A 32-year-old woman was molested aboard a KSRTC bus near Haripad here on Saturday by an employee of the state transport corporation while she was travelling to work, police said.

The accused, a driver in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), was arrested and booked for the offence under section 74 (assault or criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, an officer of Haripad police station said.

The incident occurred around 6.30 am when the woman had fallen asleep on the bus, police said.

The accused, who was sitting beside her, suddenly grabbed her and she woke up and raised an alarm, it said.

Subsequently, the accused got off the bus and attempted to flee, but the driver stopped the vehicle and caught him after a chase.

As the woman wanted to lodge a complaint, the bus was taken to the Haripad police station where her statement was recorded and an FIR was registered, the officer said.