Man jailed after ‘vicious attack’ on bus driver in East Ham

A bus driver was dragged off his vehicle onto the street then viciously and repeatedly punched and kicked before his two attackers fled.

The attack in Rancliffe Road, East Ham, came minutes after the driver and a motorist exchanged words in what police described as “a minor motoring matter.”

Now, 11 months on from the incident, one of the assailants has finally been brought to book.

At Snaresbook Crown Court, Kamaljeet Bahra, 31, of High Street South, East Ham, was jailed for 14 months after he admitted causing actual bodily harm.

The driver of the Route 115 bus was parked and checking his vehicle at an authorised stand on March 14 last when Bahra and his cohort approached him.

As he opened the doors he was attacked and only until a fellow bus driver came to his rescue did the beating stop and the attackers ran away.

The bus driver had to be taken to hospital for treatment for severe bruising to his face and back of head and grazes to his arms and body.

Bahra was arrested on March 29.

Acting Chief Superintendent Paul Stalker, of the MPS’s Safer Transport Command, said: “Bus staff have the right to do their job with the fear of violence and this sentence reflects the seriousness of Bahra’s actions.”