Massage parlour staff beat cabbie

Staff members of a massage parlour – two women among them -- threatened, chased and assaulted a 35-year-old cab driver in Nandagudi on June 29.

Police said that the driver, a resident of Kadugodi who wish to be anonymous, lodged a police complaint after he was discharged from the hospital following eight days of treatment.

In the FIR, the Nandagudi police named Ashraf, Karthik, Johan, Mamatha, Dimple, and Suresh. They are yet to arrest them.

Police said the driver received a message on his phone that massage services were available in Banaswadi. Since he was a thyroid patient and had sugar, he wanted to go for an Ayurvedic massage, he stated in his complaint.

He learnt about the parlour’s address from the internet and located it to one Pratham Building in Banaswadi.

At the building, he was greeted with skimpily clad women. When he asked for the Ayurvedic massage, the staff there told it was only massage ‘service’ and not Ayurvedic.

“I was made to sit with a woman without clothes and they clicked our photographs on their phones and threatened they will upload it on the internet if I go to police or media,” the driver told DH, adding that the staff also threatened to kill him if he spoke to the police.

Getting out of the parlour, the driver ran down the steps and took off on his car.

As he was proceeding to Hoskote on Chinthamani Road near Shivanapura cross, a car and two bikes intercepted his vehicle. the accused followed him thinking he might go to the police.

They surrounded the driver and slashed his hands with broken bottle and a knife.

The driver got treatment for his injuries in two private hospitals.

“We’re probing whether the driver went to the parlour to check out the services there. We also found that he is an RTI activist and are still probing on his real motive. But he was assaulted and we rejistered a case,” said a police official.