Cab driver held after woman alleges sexual assault in Bengaluru

According to Bengaluru police, the incident took place between 4 am to 5 am, while the complainant was returning home from a friend’s house. After she fell asleep in the car, the driver stopped the vehicle and sexually assaulted her. “She screamed and resisted him. Fearing that he will get caught, he fled from the location,” police said.

Police on Wednesday arrested a cab driver for allegedly sexually assaulting a passenger in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Bengaluru Police have identified the suspect in custody as Devaraju, a resident of KR Puram. He a native of Andhra Pradesh and has been driving a leased sedan car in the city for the past two years.

Devaraju, who lives in K R Puram, was arrested on the basis of a complaint by the woman at Jeevan Bhima Nagar police station in east Bengaluru.

The incident, police said, took place between 4 am and 5 am when the woman was returning home from a friend’s house. The woman alleged that she had fallen asleep when the driver stopped the cab away from her house and sexually assaulted her. “He then fled from the location,” a police official said, seeking anonymity. 

Police said the woman managed to snatch the accused’s phone which helped the cops to track him. The accused, police said, is a resident of Andhra Pradesh and was employed with a private cab aggregator for the past two years.

Additional commissioner of police, (East) S Murugan said a case under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code was registered and the woman will be sent for medical examination.

Officials at Jeevan Bhima Nagar police station said the suspect in custody has denied the charges and claimed that there was an argument between them over some issue. “We are verifying his claims. But the car was found parked away from the designated drop location and was there for close to 25 minutes. This is suspicious,” officials said.

Siddaramaiah attacks govt over Mysuru case

Meanwhile, leader of opposition in Karnataka Assembly, Siddaramaiah, attacked the state government over the Mysuru gang rape case and accused home minister Araga Jnanendra of taking the incident casually.

“People are scared after the gang rape incident and parents of children studying in Mysuru are worried,” he said.

Alleging that there was a 14-15 hour gap between the hospital reporting an MLC (Medico-Legal Case) and registering an FIR, he asked, “Why was there a delay? Why was the case first registered under section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) and was changed to 376 (d) and 397 of IPC after a protest by local residents and Congress workers?”

(With inputs from PTI)