Bengaluru woman cancels auto ride, gets harassed by driver; arrested shortly after [details]

In yet another shocking incident of aggression and violence against women, an auto driver in Bengaluru allegedly slapped a woman passenger. Why? Because she booked another auto ride and canceled the first ride, booked through an app, at the very last minute. In the footage of the incident that sparked outrage within a few hours of its occurrence, the auto driver can be seen attempting to snatch the mobile phone of the woman passenger and even threatening to drag her to the police station.

The video shows the Ola auto-driver and the woman in a heated altercation where the woman can be heard asking the driver, "Why are you shouting?" After which the auto driver escalates the issue with his aggression and asks, "Does your father pay me for the fuel?" The woman further objects to being shouted at and abused. In the video, he can be seen trying to snatch her phone.

The woman, whose face is not visible in the video, sounds harassed and threatens him with a police complaint. To which the driver says that she can do as she pleases and insists that she come in his auto to report to the police. In the over one-minute-long video clip, others can be seen trying to intervene in the matter after the snatching attempt when the woman asks the auto driver, "How dare you slap me? What were you thinking?"

The woman later explained her side of the story in a social media post. She said that she and her friend booked two autos on Ola during peak hours and later canceled the one booked by her friend which arrived later. Post this the driver of the canceled auto ride followed them and that's when the incident took place.

"Yesterday in Bangalore (Bengaluru), my friend and I booked two autos on Ola due to peak hours. I arrived first, so she canceled hers. The other auto driver followed us, furious. Despite explaining the situation, he started shouting and hurling abuse," she posted demanding immediate action.

The post further reads, "The driver went on to verbally assault us, making derogatory remarks against my family. I began recording which enraged him further. When I mentioned reporting him, he challenged me showing no fear of consequences."

Quite alarming, says Ola

Understandably, enough questions were raised by netizens on the ride hailing app Ola and the safety and background checks of its drivers. Ola responded to her post by saying that the incident sounded quite serious and alarming and they will investigate at their end.

The auto driver has been arrested

The driver was later apprehended by the police, after the Additional Director General of Police Traffic and Road Safety Alok Kumar took note of the tweet. He responded to her post, "Such behaviour is unacceptable. Few people like him give the auto drivers community a bad name. Have informed the concerned to take appropriate action."

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