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DHARAMSHALA: Passengers headed here for a breath of fresh Himalayan air had a stinky surprise en route this week when a 27-year-old man got too comfortable on the bus ride and took off his shoes and socks.

Prakash Kumar's fetid socks not only caused several passengers to feel sick on the air-conditioned Delhi-Dharamshala Volvo bus, they got him arrested as well, albeit briefly.

Kumar took off his socks as the bus neared Kangra in Himachal Pradesh , and the ensuing stench led some of his fellow passengers to ask him to either pack them away or throw them.

Kumar's refusal to do either triggered a heated argument. The driver and conductor had to stop the bus twice to pacify the passengers, but their efforts proved in vain. The passengers then forced the driver to take the bus to a police station at Bharwain in Una, where they filed a complaint against Kumar.

Kumar was arrested for causing public nuisance, but subsequently released on surety by the Una sub-divisional magistrate.

Una superintendent of police Sanjeev Gandhi said a case had been registered against Kumar on a complaint filed by his co-passengers. Suggesting Kumar's stinking socks were not the only problem, Gandhi said he had also created a ruckus at the police station.

According to Gandhi, Kumar has filed a counter-complaint against the other passengers alleging that his socks did not stink and that they had quarrelled with him for no reason.

