The complainant detailed how the Rapido driver masturbated while she was on the bike, and then called her and contacted her on WhatsApp.
Published Jul 24, 2023 | 9:10 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 24, 2023 | 9:10 AM
In the wake of the rape and the police's revelation of Shahbuddin's criminal antecedents, South First took a look at Rapido's hiring process. (Official website)
India expressed outrage and came out in protest as the video of two Kuki women from Manipur being paraded naked and molested went viral earlier this month.
Ironically, a woman from Bengaluru faced sexual harassment while on her way back from exactly one such protest.
The woman complained to the Bengaluru City Police in a series of tweets, detailing how a Rapido driver masturbated while she was on the bike, and then called her and contacted her on WhatsApp.
The police confirmed in a reply to her tweets that the accused had been arrested after they registered a case against him.
The incident also brought back memories from last year, when a Kerala-native techie alleged that she was gang-raped by her Rapido driver and his friend.
The complainant, in a series of tweets on Friday, 21 July, recounted her ordeal, which continued beyond the bike ride.
She said he opted to ride on a bike in the first place because multiple bookings of auto-rickshaws were cancelled.
The first red flag appeared to be the fact that the driver arrived on a different bike, explaining that the one registered with Rapido was “under servicing”.
“During the journey, we reached a remote area with no other vehicles around,” she noted.
It was at this place that, she said, the driver began riding with one hand and masturbating with the other.
“Fearing for my safety, I remained silent throughout the ordeal,” said the complainant, adding: “I asked him to drop me 200 metres before my actual destination to conceal my home location.”
She continued: “Once the ride was over, he started relentlessly calling and messaging me on WhatsApp. I had to block his number to stop the harassment.” She also shared a screenshot of the messages he sent.
The police acknowledged the complaint on Saturday, and said on Sunday that a case had been registered in this regard at the Electronic City Police Station.
They also acknowledged that the driver — identified as one Shivappa, a 23-year-old resident of the Haveri district of Karnataka — had been arrested.
Last year, the Electronic City police arrested a bike-taxi rider and two others — including a woman — for allegedly gang-raping a 22-year-old woman who had hired the app-based taxi in Southeast Bengaluru on the intervening night of 24 and 25 November.
The survivor, a native of Kerala, was travelling from her friend’s house in HSR Layout to another friend’s house in Electronic City, said the police.
She works as a freelance web designer and a techie in the city, and used the app Rapido to hire the bike-taxi, the cops added.
Two of the accused were identified as Shahabuddin (26), the Rapido taxi rider, and his friend Akhtar (24), who worked as a mobile mechanic, the police said.
The woman who was arrested in the case was said to be the cousin of one of the accused, and was in the room where the crime was committed in Neeladrinagar in the Electronic City area.
The cops said she was a party to the crime by abetting it and even trying to hide information from the police during interrogation.
Meanwhile, the case also put Rapido — more specifically, its hiring practices — under the scanner because it turned out that prime-accused Shahbuddin had a criminal past.
(With PTI inputs)
