B'luru Police file FIR after woman accuses Rapido auto driver of groping her; firm disputes incident

A 22-year-old woman has accused a Rapido driver of touching her inappropriately during a ride in the early hours of Thursday in eastern Bengaluru. The ride aggregator, however, claimed that the 'auto ride' in question did not occur on its platform.

Bengaluru: A 22-year-old woman has accused a Rapido driver of touching her inappropriately during a ride in the early hours of Thursday in eastern Bengaluru.

The young woman, an engineer by profession, told the police that she booked the auto from Indiranagar at 2.25 am to her residence near Annasandrapalya Main Road. She alleged that despite giving the OTP, the auto driver began moving without entering it.

She claimed that when they reached the drop location and she was trying to scan the QR code to pay the driver, he “put his hand between the legs and inside the skirt and misbehaved”, the FIR notes.

When she stopped the suspect, he began moving the vehicle in reverse, causing her to fall and hurt her right leg and a finger on her right hand, she told the police.

HAL police have registered a case under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty).

The suspect, identified as Eklas Uddin Laskar, has been served with a notice of appearance under CrPC Section 41A and further investigations are underway, a police officer close to the investigation said.

The ride aggregator, however, claimed that the 'auto ride' in question did not occur on its platform.

"Nevertheless, we have taken immediate action to address the concerns by conducting an internal search within our auto driver database. It has been identified that the mentioned auto driver is indeed registered with Rapido... Our dedicated Rapido team promptly located and accompanied the driver to the relevant police station, where the complainant was also present. Upon questioning by the police authorities, the auto driver provided a statement, asserting that no such incident took place. However, recognising the seriousness of the complaint, the police authorities have registered an FIR and initiated an investigation into the matter," the company said in a statement.

Rapido said it was fully committed to cooperating with the police throughout the investigation and was prepared to offer all necessary support.