Bengaluru Shocker: Rapido driver arrested after woman alleges sexual harassment during ride

Bengaluru Police said on Sunday that a driver for the ride-hailing platform Rapido has been arrested on charges of harassing a female passenger.

The alleged incident, which took place on 6 November, was brought to public attention after the woman posted details on social media.

The Bengaluru Police’s social media monitoring unit spotted the post and subsequently made contact with her to obtain further details. A case was officially registered the following day, and an enquiry was launched, the police said.

The incident took place as the woman was making her way back to her paying guest (PG) hostel from the vicinity of Church Street.

The accused has been identified as 28-year-old Lokesh, a resident of Muniyappa Layout, Ullal, Bengaluru.

“…the captain tried to grab my legs while riding. It happened so suddenly that I couldn’t even process it, let alone record it,” the woman wrote in her social media post.

“When he did it again, I told him, “Bhaiya, kya kar rahe ho, mat karo,” but he didn’t stop,” she added.

The woman stated that she was in a flood of tears by the time she arrived at her destination. She added that a bystander noticed her distress, stepped in, and challenged the driver.

“I’m sharing this because no woman should have to go through something like this — not in a cab, not on a bike, not anywhere. This is not the first time something similar has happened to me. But today I just couldn't stay silent because of how unsafe I felt,” the woman said.

UP news: Girl claims rape by madrassa maulana, medical report refutes allegation

In a separate incident, the family members of a teenage girl from Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh alleged that she was raped by a maulana of an illegal madrassa where she was studying, a charge that was found to be untrue during medical examination, police said on Sunday.

In her complaint lodged on 4 November, the mother of the 15-year-old girl alleged that Maulana Irfan Ul Qadri of Rizviya Gulshan Fatima madrassa in the old city locality in the Kotwali area raped her daughter, the police said.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against Qadri, who is absconding, Tripathi said, adding that the police have detained his wife.

However, the girl's medical examination at the district hospital on Saturday did not confirm rape. During questioning the next day, the girl backtracked from her statement, the police said.

Though the rape has not been confirmed, a detailed probe into the matter is underway, said Additional Superintendent of Police, North, Alok Singh.

It is also being probed why the girl and her family accused Qadri of rape, he said.