A female architect in Bengaluru had a frightening experience when she jumped off a moving Rapido bike to avoid being sexually harassed and taken to the wrong location by the driver. On the evening of April 21, the woman booked a ride with the ride-hailing service and the driver picked her up at 11:10 p.m. The driver grabbed her phone under the guise of verifying the OTP but instead started moving in the opposite direction of the intended destination.
Despite the woman’s protests and demands to follow the correct route, the driver remained silent. The woman retrieved her phone and realized that the driver was intoxicated. In response, the driver snatched the phone back and began groping her. The woman felt that she had no other choice but to jump off the moving bike to escape from the driver. The incident was captured by CCTV cameras along the roadside.
The accused driver, Deepak, was subsequently arrested by the police and charged under Sections 354 and 366 of the Indian Penal Code. The police commissioner has called on all cab aggregators, bike taxi services, and food delivery partners to discuss the safety of women and citizens in light of the incident.
This is not the first time that a woman has been sexually harassed while using ride-hailing services in India. Last month, the chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) sent a notice to Uber India and the Delhi Police following the molestation of a female journalist in an Uber auto in Delhi. In that incident, the victim reported that the auto driver was staring at her in the rear-view mirror, and she felt uncomfortable and unsafe. The incident highlights the need for ride-hailing companies to take more measures to ensure the safety and security of their passengers, especially women.
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