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Bengaluru cab driver booked for sexually harassing 18-year-old passenger
The Bengaluru police said they are trying to trace the accused, who is from a neighbouring state.
The woman said in her complaint that her friend booked a cab early Sunday for her to return to her grandmother's house. (File/ Representational Image)
A cab driver associated with a popular ride-hailing service has been accused of sexually harassing and restraining an 18-year-old woman who was travelling to her grandmother’s house in Bengaluru in the early hours of Sunday, September 20.
The Bengaluru police said they booked the cab driver for sexual harassment, use of force to outrage the modesty of a woman, and wrongful restraint under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita the next day. They said efforts were underway to trace the accused, who is from a neighbouring state.
According to the police complaint, the woman alleged that the driver kissed her after she fell asleep in the cab, which a friend had booked for her around 1.30 am.
The woman approached the police on September 21 after first speaking to her mother about the incident.
According to her complaint, she had gone to visit her friend on September 19, and her friend booked a cab in the early hours of Sunday for her to return to her grandmother’s house.
The woman sat in the front passenger seat beside the driver and placed her baggage on the rear seat. About 15 minutes into the journey, she fell asleep, according to the complaint.
She alleged that she woke up after sensing that the cab had stopped and that the driver was touching her inappropriately. She then realised, she told the police, that he was attempting to kiss her. When she confronted him and asked whether he had touched her, he allegedly replied, “Yeah, I am sorry.”
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The woman said she immediately tried to get out of the cab, but the driver locked the doors and started driving again. According to the complaint, when she began screaming and banging on the window, the driver stopped near a tech park and let her out.
The woman left her baggage inside the cab and took an auto-rickshaw to her grandmother’s house.
The victim filed a complaint with the ride-hailing service in the morning, and a few of the driver’s friends brought the baggage she had left in the cab to her grandmother’s house.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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