Published Jun 16, 2025 | 5:12 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 16, 2025 | 5:41 PM
The incident comes to light just a day before bike taxis were ordered to cease operations in Bengaluru from 15 June.
Synopsis: A Rapido bike taxi driver allegedly slapped a woman in Bengaluru’s Jayanagar on 13 June following an argument over rash driving. CCTV footage shows the woman hitting the driver multiple times before he slapped her. Police have registered a non-cognisable report under multiple sections of the Bharat Nyaya Sanhita, and an investigation is underway. The incident occurred days before bike taxis were ordered to halt operations in the city following a High Court ruling effective 15 June.
Bengaluru police have registered a non-cognisable report (NCR) against a Rapido bike taxi driver for allegedly assaulting a woman in the Jayanagar locality on the morning of 13 June, after she reportedly objected to his rash driving.
The incident, captured in a now-viral video shot by a bystander, shows the driver striking the woman during a heated argument on the roadside.
However, CCTV footage of the incident, recorded prior to the man hitting the woman, shows her getting off the bike and repeatedly hitting the driver.
“He was not using Google Maps. I asked him to go to Jayanagar, but he was taking the wrong route – from Jayadeva Hospital the other way..and he kept braking suddenly. I felt it was unsafe, so I got down and asked, “What kind of driving is this? Are you even using maps?” the woman told TV9 Kannada.
Initially, the woman declined to lodge a formal complaint. However, following persuasion by police officers, an NCR was registered under Sections 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman), 352 (intent to provoke breach of peace), and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharat Nyaya Sanhita.
“There was an argument and an altercation, which was followed by the slapping of a woman by a Rapido driver. The woman, on asking to register an FIR, refused to register on that day. However, today, she has come forward to register the case in this regard,” said Lokesh B Jagalasar, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).
“The woman had objected to the unsafe driving of the driver, following which an altercation had ensued. And he slapped her. Regarding this, the investigation is underway, and the accused is being questioned.”
Police are now contemplating converting the NCR to a First Information Report.
The incident comes to light just a day before bike taxis were ordered to cease operations in Karnataka from 15 June.
This follows a decision by the Karnataka High Court, which declined to grant relief to petitioners ANI Technologies, which operates Ola, and Uber India Systems Private Limited.
The companies had challenged a single-judge order that held bike taxi aggregators – including Rapido, Uber and others – cannot operate in the state unless the government notifies specific rules under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The division bench refused the appellants’ plea to continue interim relief and to restrain authorities from taking action until the appeal was heard.
“If they were framing rules we could have permitted it, but they are not,” the bench observed.
The single-judge order had stated that unless the state government issues guidelines under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act and accompanying rules, the petitioners cannot function as aggregators offering bike taxi services.
Further, it held that the Transport Department cannot issue directions to register motorcycles as transport vehicles or to grant contract carriage permits.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
