An autorickshaw driver has been arrested by the Bengaluru police, after a video clip surfaced on social media that showed him abusing and slapping a young woman inside an auto. The auto driver, who was associated with Ola, reportedly got angry after the woman cancelled the ride. With the visuals going viral, the Bengaluru police had summoned the auto driver for questioning and a probe has been initiated.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vijayanagar sub-division, Chandan Kumar, responded to the incident by assuring the victim that the police would register a case, conduct an enquiry, and take legal action. Meanwhile, Ola Support has sent a request on the victim’s registered email ID to investigate the matter further.
The young woman stated that she faced severe embarrassment and was physically assaulted by an Ola driver after she cancelled ride the ride. On September 3, the victim and her friend booked two autos on Ola due to peak hours. The victim cancelled her trip as her friend’s vehicle arrived first and boarded that vehicle. The other auto driver followed them, and after stopping the vehicle she was traveling in, he furiously started shouting and hurling abuses.
“The auto driver went on to verbally assault us, questioning whether the auto belonged to my father and making derogatory comments. I began recording, which enraged him further. When I mentioned reporting him, he challenged me, showing no fear of consequences,” the victim stated.
The victim also shared videos showing the Ola auto driver hurling vulgar abuses at her, claiming that he was made to wait for five minutes after arriving at the spot and questioning whether her father would pay for the gas since she decided to cancel the ride. The victim asked the driver not to shout and abuse her, to which the driver asked her what else he should do.
When the young woman told him that she would approach the police, the auto driver challenged her to go to the police right away. The video shows the auto driver grabbing her phone. The victim alleges that he slapped her.
The young woman is seen in another video questioning the auto driver about why he slapped her and what she should do about it. The auto driver told her to lodge a police complaint. The young woman is also heard saying that she was still addressing him respectfully and questioning how he could talk to her in that manner. The young woman asked the auto driver in Hindi whether cancelling a ride was a crime.
Using vulgar language, he told her to speak in Kannada. He could also be heard saying, "Let anything happen today; I am not going to be quiet."
The victim wrote to Ola stating, “Despite reporting, your customer support has been unresponsive. Immediate action is needed.” Meanwhile, the rival cab aggregator ‘Namma Yatri’ company apologised for the incident involving the victim on Thursday.
On social media platform X, Namma Yatri stated to the victim, “We hope you are doing well. We are really sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident. We wanted to get in touch with you to know the auto driver’s details so that we can take precautionary steps on our platform.”
Police sources said that they have tracked down the auto driver and identified him as one Mutturaj. They questioned him and asked the victim to come to the police station to record her statement.
(With IANS inputs)