Bike taxi services have become an integral part of life for millions of commuters in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. But, the safety of such taxi services has been a serious concern, especially for women passengers. Now, a horrifying incident involving a Rapido bike taxi has emerged from Bengaluru. A 30-year-old woman had to jump off a moving Rapido bike in order to save herself from being molested by the driver.
According to the complainant, the driver sexually harassed her and tried to take her to the wrong destination.
On the night of April 21, the woman had booked a Rapido bike to Indiranagar, reported Deccan Herald. Consequently, a Rapido bike driver arrived to pick up the woman at around 11:10 pm. The driver then took her phone on the pretext of checking the OTP (one-time password) for starting the ride and changed the drop location from Indiranagar to Doddaballapura.
When the woman suspected that the rider was travelling in the wrong direction, she asked him about it. But, the rider remained silent and continued speeding up the bike. When the woman snatched her phone from the rider, he snatched it right back and increased the speed of the bike. Furthermore, the rider also groped her. The woman eventually jumped off the speeding bike near the BMS Institute of Technology and Management (BMSIT) and sustained injuries. The driver sped away with her phone.
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Some passersby helped the woman call her friend in her hometown and another friend in Indiranagar.
CCTV cameras in the area have captured the incident. News agency ANI has posted a video clip of the incident on Twitter. Many Twitter users are shocked by the disturbing incident, which happened in the limits of Yelahanka New Town police station.
#WATCH| Bengaluru, Karnataka: Woman jumps off a moving motorbike after the rapido driver allegedly tried to grope her & snatched her phone
On 21st April, woman booked a bike to Indiranagar, driver allegedly took her phone on pretext of checking OTP & started driving towards… pic.twitter.com/bPvdoILMQ2— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2023
The Rapido driver has been identified as Deepak Rao, a 27-year-old hailing from Andhra Pradesh. The accused has been arrested and sent to judicial custody. He has been booked for sexual harassment, kidnapping and assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty.
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(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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