K’taka Police arrest accused Ola driver for assaulting woman (Lead)
Bengaluru, Sep 5 (IANS) Bengaluru Police arrested the accused auto driver on Thursday in connection with abusing and assaulting a woman over the ride cancellation issue.
The accused driver has been identified as Mutturaj.
“The auto driver assaulted the victim for boarding another auto after cancelling his trip. He quarrelled with her even after the trip was cancelled. The assault footage is not available in the video captured by the lady. The locals have informed the police that the lady was assaulted. We will get a complaint from the victim and initiate action,” said DCP (West) S. Girish.
Earlier, a young woman was abused, slapped and harassed by a middle-aged auto driver associated with Ola for cancelling a ride in Bengaluru.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vijayanagar sub-division, Chandan Kumar, has assured the victim that the police would register a case, conduct an enquiry, and take legal action.
Meanwhile, Ola Support has sent a request to the victim’s registered email ID to investigate the matter further.
The young woman, Niti, said that she faced severe embarrassment and was physically assaulted by an Ola driver after a simple ride cancellation.
On September 3, the victim and her friend booked two autos on Ola during peak hours. The victim cancelled her trip as her friend’s vehicle arrived first and boarded that vehicle.
The auto driver followed them and after stopping the vehicle she was traveling in, he furiously started shouting and hurling abuses.
“The auto driver verbally assaulted us, told us whether the auto belonged to my father and made derogatory comments. I began recording, which enraged him further. When I mentioned reporting him, he challenged me, showing no fear of consequences,” the victim said.
The victim also shared videos showing the Ola auto driver hurling vulgar abuses at her, claiming that he was made to wait for five minutes after arriving at the spot and questioning whether “her father would pay for the gas” since she decided to cancel the ride.
The victim asked the driver not to shout and abuse her, to which the driver asked her what else he should do.
When the young woman told him that she would approach the police, the auto driver challenged her to go to the police right away. The auto driver told her to lodge a police complaint.
The video shows the auto driver grabbing her phone. The victim alleged that he slapped her.
The young woman is seen in another video questioning the auto driver about why he slapped her.
The young woman is also heard saying that she was still addressing him respectfully and questioning how he could talk to her in that manner.
The young woman asked the auto driver in Hindi whether cancelling a ride was a crime.
Using vulgar language, he told her to speak in Kannada. He could also be heard saying, “Whatever happens today, I am not going to be quiet.”
The victim wrote to Ola stating, “Despite reporting, your customer support has been unresponsive. Immediate action is needed.”
Meanwhile, the rival cab aggregator ‘Namma Yatri’ company apologised for the incident involving the victim on Thursday.
On social media platform X, Namma Yatri stated to the victim, “We hope you are doing well. We are really sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident. We wanted to get in touch with you to know the auto driver’s details so that we can take precautionary steps on our platform.”
–IANS
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