Delhi: Auto driver molest woman, drives off with her son, bag

The suspect was identified as 49-year-old Chandeshwar Yadav, a native of Motihari in Bihar and a father of five.

An auto-rickshaw driver allegedly molested a sleeping 21-year-old woman passenger on Monday and drove away with her four-year-old son and luggage when she jumped off the vehicle to escape the assault, in south-west Delhi’s Cantonment area, said Delhi Police officers. The suspect was arrested on Tuesday.

According to police, the man abandoned the boy near India Gate soon after the crime. (HT photo)

According to police, the man abandoned the boy near India Gate soon after the crime. The child was recovered by local police personnel, said Manoj C, deputy commissioner of police (south-west).

“We arrested the driver after identifying his auto by scanning over 100 CCTV cameras over a 30km route that the vehicle took,” said the DCP.

The suspect was identified as 49-year-old Chandeshwar Yadav, a native of Motihari in Bihar and a father of five. He was booked under charges of molestation and kidnapping, police said.

The crime is another reminder of the deteriorating law and order situation in the city, especially with regard to women’s safety, which has been a matter of concern for long in the national capital. While the assault on the woman took place during the dark, it nonetheless puts in question the role of police and patrolling, as there has been a string of brazen crimes, including murders, in the city taking place during daylight over the last few days.

The incident took place in the early hours of Monday after the victim, who belong to Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, arrived at around 2am for the first time in the city along with her son to stay and work with her sister near Sadar Bazar of Delhi Cantonment.

“It was her first visit to Delhi and she did not know the routes in the city. So, after landing at the Anant Vihar bus terminal around 2am, she took an auto-rickshaw to Sadar Bazar. But due to miscommunication, the driver took her to Sadar Bazar of Old Delhi instead of the one in Cantonment area,” said the DCP.

There, at around 3.30am, she caught another auto-rickshaw for Delhi Cantonment, police said,but dozed off along the ride. “She woke up to find the auto parked on the roadside and the driver molesting her. She resisted the assault and got off the auto,” said an investigator not authorised to speak to the media.

The driver left the woman at the spot near Dhaula Kuan and allegedly sped away with her son, her phone and bag still in the vehicle, police said.

“The woman then walked to the Subroto Park police post at around 4.30am after taking some help from locals. A case of molestation and kidnapping was registered at Delhi Cantonment police station,” said the investigator.

Investigation into the crime by scanning CCTV cameras along the 30km route revealed the auto’s registration number, police said. Yadav was subsequently arrested from his home in Dallupura village in east Delhi in the early hours of Tuesday.

“During interrogation, he produced the stolen phone and bag. He further revealed that he had abandoned the child near India Gate,” said the DCP.

Police, with the help of their counterparts in New Delhi district, learnt that the child was found by the personnel of Kartavya Path police station and admitted to a children’s home. He was found to be physically safe and handed over to his mother, police said.