Mumbai Woman Locked Inside Car By Ola Share Driver And Co-Passenger To Teach Her A ‘Lesson’

Cab services have truly changed our lives for the better as we no longer have to beg autos to take us to our destination and can easily avail a ride at the touch of a button. In fact, it has become so common that we do not think twice before travelling with strangers when we avail the pool or share services.

However, there is no denying that the ordeal befalling passengers while availing such cab services has left a traumatising impact on us. A similar incident happened to a Mumbai woman who decided to take an Ola share to commute to work but little did she know that the experience would turn out to be one of her worst nightmares.

The incident happened on Monday morning when 29-year-old Rutuja Rokade, who works in an MNC in Goregaon’s Nirlon Knowledge Park took a shared ride around 6:20 am, as her office pick-up facility was not available. She could not even get a personal ride as they were not available in the morning.

After she boarded her cab from Matunga, a male passenger also boarded the car from the same place. All was well until they reached Knowledge Park and the driver stopped near her complex gate. She requested the driver to drop her near her office building as she was suffering from pains in her knee and even offered him more money but the driver refused to oblige and said that he would have to take a U-turn.

According to Mid-day, the male passenger by this time intervened in the conversation and berated the woman saying,

“Tumhe kuch kaam dhandaa nahi hai kya? Mujhe Malad jaanaa hai, late ho raha hai.”

(“Don’t you have work? I have to leave for Malad, I am getting late”)

When she told him not to interfere it enraged him and he told the driver to start for Malad to teach the ‘arrogant woman’ a lesson. She said,

“I then tried to open to door, but the driver locked it centrally. And the co-passenger hit my hand every time I tried to open it.”

The assault went on for 10 minutes after which she pleaded with the driver to let her out of the car.

The driver unlocked the door and the victim stumbled out of the car. She went to the security guards and narrated her ordeal. While she was walking, the driver got out of the car and hurled abuses at her. By the time the guards took an action, he had already escaped.

When she went to the police station in Vanrai they told her to register a non-cognisable offence but she insisted on lodging an FIR. The police took about 3 hours to register her FIR against the driver and the co-passenger.

They finally registered it under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (word or gesture intended to outrage the modesty of a woman) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

As per latest developments in the case, the driver, Rafiq Shaikh was arrested today but has managed to secure bail. The police are currently in talks with Ola to extract the details of the co-passenger. A spokesperson for Ola has also commented on the issue and said that the accused has been offloaded from the platform.

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