Bengaluru shocker: Bike-taxi driver accused of changing route, harassing woman - Report
A bike-taxi driver in Bengaluru allegedly diverted his route and sexually harassed a 28-year-old woman. The driver denies the claims.
A bike-taxi driver in Bengaluru is accused of altering his route and sexually harassing a 28-year-old woman. The incident occurred between 11:40 pm and midnight on July 5, News 18 reported.
The woman, who lives in Radha Reddy Layout on Sarjapur Road and works as a store supervisor at a local hotel, reported to Bellandur Police that she had booked a bike-taxi at 11:20 pm to join her husband for dinner.
The driver has been identified as Biswajit Nath, a man in his early 20s, who reportedly arrived at her residence at 11:40 pm. According to her complaint, Nath diverted from the planned route, claiming it was due to waterlogging. During the trip, the woman received a call from a friend and spoke in Bengali. Nath then began conversing with her in the same language.
READ | Bengaluru man arrested for creating fake ID, claiming to be Karnataka CM's secretary: Report
The woman alleged that Nath drove to a secluded area, stopped the bike, and proceeded to harass her. “He claimed that due to waterlogging, he’s taking alternative roads. Meanwhile, I got a call from my friend, and I spoke to her in Bengali. Biswajit asked me if I was Bengali and he started conversing with me in the language. He took me to an isolated place and stopped the bike. When I questioned him, he started touching me inappropriately and asked me to cooperate with him,” the woman was quoted as saying to another publication.
The woman added that Nath chased and slapped her when she attempted to escape. “He snatched my mobile phone and cash too. I pleaded with him to leave me unharmed. After almost 30 minutes, he realised that I won’t give up. I requested him to drop me at the location or home as I was not aware of which place it was, and there were hardly any people in the area. I could not note down his bike number. My husband came and picked me up. Rapido responded to my complaint, stating they would terminate Biswajit. They gave me his name and mobile number. I filed a complaint,” she told the publication.
Nath was later located by the police, who said he denied the allegations, describing them as a misunderstanding. He claimed that he took the detour due to waterlogging and that the woman misunderstood his actions. Nath also stated that the passenger asked to be dropped off short of her destination and refused to pay the fare, prompting him to take the money forcibly.
The police are currently investigating both versions of the story.