Anurag Kumar
On Friday, a woman in Bengaluru accused the driver of a Rapido bike taxi of masturbating during the journey and sexual harassment. The woman stated on Twitter that she had hailed the transport to return home from Town Hall after attending a protest against the violence in Manipur. She added that numerous auto rickshaw taxi cancellations forced her to choose the bicycle.
She claimed that the Rapido driver had arrived on a different cycle than the one listed on the app, with the explanation that it was undergoing maintenance. After confirming the transport through the app, she departed.
According to the woman’s allegation, the man began masturbating while driving the motorbike en route to the destination. “During the voyage, we arrived in an isolated region where no other vehicles were present. Surprisingly, the motorist started riding with one hand and engaging in inappropriate behaviour (masturbating while cycling). I remained mute throughout the ordeal for fear of my safety,” she wrote.
The Twitter user stated that she requested the driver to drop her off a few metres from her residence in order to conceal her location. Despite having paid in full for the journey, she claimed that the passenger continued to call and text her. Sharing a screenshot of the allegedly inappropriate WhatsApp message sent by the chauffeur, she stated that she blocked him.
“I requested that he drop me off 200 metres before my actual destination to conceal the location of my residence. After the journey ended, he began calling and messaging me on WhatsApp nonstop. She tweeted, “I had to block his number to stop the harassment.”
She tagged the cycle taxi aggregator in the thread, where she inquired about the measures taken to ensure customer safety and added that the driver continued to harass her from other phone numbers.
“…what steps are you taking to conduct background checks? Your main priority should be the security of your users. Please ensure that individuals registered with your service can be relied upon to ensure secure travel…” she added.
In response to the woman’s allegation, the official Bengaluru police Twitter account requested the user’s contact information. The city police wrote in a tweet, “We have notified @sjparkps to take appropriate action in this regard. Please DM your contact number.”
Thread 🧵#SexualHarassement
Today, I went for the Manipur Violence protest at Town Hall Bangalore and booked a @rapidobikeapp auto for my way back home. However, multiple auto cancellations led me to opt for a bike instead. pic.twitter.com/bQkw4i7NvO— Athira Purushothaman (@Aadhi_02) July 21, 2023
Sexual harassment allegations against Rapido chauffeurs are not unprecedented. In March of this year, a Twitter user with the handle husnpari posted screenshots of allegedly inappropriate messages from a Rapido driver with whom she had revealed her location via WhatsApp.
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In April, another Bengaluru woman was allegedly groped and harassed by the driver of a Rapido cycle taxi, prompting her to abandon the vehicle. The Bengaluru police registered a case, and the suspect was apprehended.
