While driving a Mangaluru native to the airport, Ola cab driver allegedly molested and forced her to strip, took pictures on mobile and even threatened to call his friends and get her gang-raped. This incident took place on June 1.
The driver has been arrested and a case has been filed against him based on the email sent by the woman to the police.
According to the FIR filed, the woman worked as an architect and had booked the cab on June 1 for the airport. While on their way, the driver Arun V stopped the car midway and diverted it to a secluded place. He then locked all the doors and windows and when the woman tried to raise an alarm, he threatened her with dire consequences, the police said.
The FIR also stated that the driver even tried to strangle her and warned her that if she did not follow his instructions he would call all his friends and gang-rape her.
She claimed that he molested and forced her to strip and took her pictures using her phone and then transferred them to his mobile phone. Additional commissioner of police Seemanth Kumar Singh said. “After reaching the airport she complained through the mail to our commissioner that such an incident has happened. Based on the mail transaction, we immediately registered an FIR and arrested the driver and seized the car.”
Ola cabs have been issued a notice asking as to why police verification was not done for the driver.
Ola spokesperson said “We regret the unfortunate experience the customer had during the ride. We have zero tolerance for such incidents and the driver has been blacklisted from the platform as an immediate action upon receiving the complaint.
“Safety of our customers is our top priority and we are extending our full support to the police authorities in their investigation,” the spokesperson said. The statement said the driver held a valid police verification check that confirmed no criminal cases had been recorded against him. “This is a mandatory process for all driver-partners who operate on our platform,” it added.