Auto driver stabs woman after fight over fare near New Friends Colony

Mehreen Riyaz told the auto driver she will pay through UPI, but he insisted on taking cash, which she was not carrying. An argument broke out between them and the driver attacked her, said police

A 22-year-old nursing student, studying in Delhi, was allegedly stabbed by an autorickshaw driver during an argument over fare near New Friends Colony (NFC) community centre market on Monday night, police said. The woman, identified as Mehreen Riyaz, who hails from Kashmir, suffered injuries to her lower abdomen after she was threatened and attacked with a sharp object, police said.

The incident took place around 8.30 pm but was reported by the hospital nearly five hours later. (Representational Image)

The auto driver fled the spot after attacking the woman, police said. The woman first went to a local hospital and from there to Holy Family Hospital, where she was given medical treatment and discharged on Tuesday morning.

The incident took place around 8.30 pm but was reported by the hospital nearly five hours later. There was no call made to the police control room from the incident spot either, said senior police officers aware of the matter.

A case was registered under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the NFC police station, said deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Rajesh Deo.

“We have formed multiple teams and they are making efforts to identify and nab the auto driver. The CCTV cameras installed around the spot where the incident happened and along the routes taken by the suspect are being scanned. He will be arrested soon,” said DCP Deo.

According to the DCP, the nursing student lives in a paying guest (PG) accommodation at Noor Nagar near Shaheen Bagh in south Delhi and is pursuing her course from Holy Family College of Nursing. On Monday evening, she hired the autorickshaw from outside her PG.

“After the auto reached the market, the driver asked for ₹120 as fare. Riyaz told him that she will pay through UPI, but he insisted on taking cash, which she was not carrying. An argument broke out between them and the driver attacked her,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

The incident comes to light five days after a woman journalist was allegedly sexually harassed by an autorickshaw driver while she was travelling in his three-wheeler in NFC area.

In another incident that took place on Saturday, a 20-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted and pushed on the road by an e-rickshaw driver following an argument over not letting a man known to her sit in his three-wheeler, near Nirman Vihar metro station, police said. The driver has since been arrested, identified as Rihan, 22, police said.

The woman, who works in Karol Bagh, told police that she reached the metro station around 9pm along with the man. They went to board the e-rickshaw but the driver refused to let the man sit in it, police said.

“When the woman asked the driver why, he began hurling abuses at them. The driver then kicked and punched the woman and pushed her. As she picked up a brick to defend herself, the driver fled,” said a police officer, quoting the woman’s statement.

Delhi Police statistics show that 1,100 cases of rape and 1,705 cases of molestation and sexual harassment were registered in Delhi till July 15, 2022. During the same period in 2021, 1,033 cases of rape and 1,473 molestation and sexual harassment cases were registered.