A bus driver who let a monkey get behind the wheel has been suspended after a video of the occurrence went viral.
In the video shot by a passenger, the driver is seen smiling and patting the monkey as it sits atop the wheel of the moving bus.
Speaking to AFP, a spokesman for the government's road transport corporation revealed that the driver has been taken off- duty.
"Driver M Prakash has been taken off duty for allowing the monkey to sit on the steering wheel and handle it. Passengers' safety is paramount and the driver cannot risk it by allowing a monkey on the steering," the statement read.
According to the spokesman, the incident occurred on October 1 but authorities only came to learn about it after being widely circulated on social media.
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Witness accounts revealed that the monkey boarded the vehicle with one of the passengers but refused to sit anywhere else but at the front.
Seemingly unperturbed, the driver allowed the monkey to sit on the steering wheel as the journey continued.
None of the 30 passengers aboard the bus at the time of the incident complained.
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