The rider of a bike taxi in Bengaluru has been arrested after a woman alleged that she was sexually harassed by him, following which she jumped off the moving vehicle to escape.
The incident occurred in Yelahanka New Town police station limits on the night of April 21. The video of the victim jumping off the bike has gone viral on social media. The incident has again raised questions over the safety of women using bike taxi services, especially at night.
According to details shared by the police, the complainant booked a ride to Indiranagar at 11.10 p.m. After the rider picked her up from the designated place, he allegedly started misbehaving with her. According to the FIR, the accused snatched away the mobile phone of the woman on the pretext of checking the OTP and physically harassed her.
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When the woman resisted and asked him to stop the vehicle, the rider drove in the opposite direction towards Doddaballapur instead of towards Indiranagar. Sensing trouble, the woman jumped off the moving bike and suffered injuries.
The next day, she filed a police complaint. The police tracked down the accused and arrested him. The accused has been identified as Deepak Rao, 28, hailing from Hyderabad. According to the police, he has been working in Bengaluru for four-and-a-half years years. He started off as a food delivery executive and for the past two-and-a-half years, he has been working with a bike taxi aggregator.
The police have reached out to their counterparts in Hyderabad to verify his antecedents.
DCP (Southeast division) B.M. Laxmi Prasad said that, following a similar incident some time ago, strict instructions were given to bike taxi aggregators and those running food delivery apps to check the antecedents of the people who attach their vehicles on their platform. The police said that aggregators must ensure the safety of women using the mobile app.
Rapido did not respond to the incident.
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