Bengaluru Woman Says Rapido Driver Masturbated While Driving, Arrested

Bengaluru Police arrested a Rapido bike driver on Saturday after a woman alleged that he masturbated while riding a bike and harassed her on Whatsapp after dropping her at the destination. Athira Purushothaman took to Twitter on July 21 to share her ordeal and said that she had gone for the Manipur violence protest at Town Hall Bangalore and booked a Rapido auto to go home from the venue. However, after multiple cancellations, she decided to take a bike from the app ride-hailing platform.

"Surprisingly, the driver arrived on a different bike, explaining that the one registered with @rapidobikeapp was under servicing. I confirmed my booking through his app and proceeded with the ride," she said in the long thread.

Ms Purushothaman said that they reached an isolated area with "no other vehicles around". At this point the driver was engaged in "inappropriate behavior" and she feared for her safety. "During the journey, we reached a remote area with no other vehicles around. Shockingly, the driver began riding with one hand and engaging in inappropriate behavior (Masturbating while riding the bike). Fearing for my safety, I remained silent throughout the ordeal," she continued.

In order to avoid sharing her home location, she decided to get down 200 metres before the actual destination. "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 said. Ms Purushothaman also shared a screenshot of the chat with the driver. The driver used heart and kissing emojis in the chat and also said "love you", as per the screenshot. 

She further questioned Rapido's safety measures and added that the person kept on calling her from several numbers. "@rapidobikeapp, what measures are you taking for background verification? Your users' safety should be a top priority. Please ensure that people registered with your service can be trusted for a safe travel experience. He keeps calling me from different numbers even now!" she tweeted. 

Bengaluru Police took note of the same on July 22. Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-East Division, Bengaluru City Police, CK Baba took to Twitter and informed that they had arrested the "real sicko on wheels". "BCP won't stand for such indecent antics! A Criminal case is lodged at E' City PS on a guy who was pretending to be rapido bike rider! We're swifter. Keep it clean or face the full force of the law!  #SafeCity," he said. 

The official handle of Bengaluru Police also tweeted, "FIR has been registered in Electronic City PS and the accused has been arrested."