Uber bike rider held for molesting, robbing woman in east Delhi

Police said the accused used a different scooter for the ride and was traced via CCTV before being arrested from his Ganesh Nagar home on Sunday.

A 28-year-old Uber bike rider has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 21-year-old passenger and robbing her of ₹5,000 at a secluded area near the Commonwealth Games (CWG) Village in east Delhi last Friday afternoon, police said.

The 21-year-old passenger, originally from Uttarakhand, reported the incident a day later after friends persuaded her to approach police. (Representational Image)

Deputy commissioner of police (East) Abhishek Dhania said the complainant, originally from Almora in Uttarakhand and employed with a private firm in Noida, had reached Anand Vihar by bus around 3.40pm on Friday. “From there, she booked an Uber bike to return to her rented flat in Khoda Colony. The accused, identified as Ajay Rayal, arrived on a scooter and picked her up,” Dhania said.

“Instead of taking the route shown on the map, the rider diverted towards a deserted stretch near the CWG Village and began molesting her,” said Dhania. “When she screamed for help, two men from a nearby jhuggi rushed to her aid. Seeing them approach, the rider snatched her bag containing ₹5,000 and some personal belongings. He also tried unsuccessfully to grab her phone, and pushed her to the ground before speeding away.”

Uber did not respond to HT’s request for a comment on the case.

The woman, police said, was deeply shaken and did not approach the police immediately. “She couldn’t gather the courage to report the incident that day. It was only after her friends persuaded her that she went to the Patparganj Industrial Area police station on Saturday,” said a police officer aware of the case.

Based on her complaint, a case was registered under sections related to sexual harassment, assault with intent to outrage modesty, theft, and robbery of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

During the investigation, police sought details from Uber about the rider and the route he was meant to take, and reviewed CCTV footage to trace his movements from Anand Vihar to the CWG Village, officers said.

It was found that the suspect had used a scooter different from the one registered with the aggregator for the trip, DCP Dhania said.

“Further inquiry revealed that the suspect’s other scooter was the one registered with Uber. He was arrested from his home in Ganesh Nagar near Pandav Nagar on Sunday. The scooter used in the crime was seized,” the officer said, adding that Rayal had thrown away the victim’s bag after taking the cash, and that CCTV footage later showed a ragpicker picking up the discarded bag.