Perpetrator arrested by the police as he tries to escape.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Even as the Indian government says it has taken measures to make Delhi’s roads safe for women, incidents of rape continue with alarming regularity, and worse in situations which were deemed as safe for women earlier.
In yet another shocking incident today, a cab driver allegedly raped a 32-year old woman passenger who hired the taxi from a Delhi metro station.
The incident happened when the woman hired a black and yellow colored taxi on Thursday night from Dwarka Mor metro station to reach her home in Madhu Vihar. The driver of the cab reportedly took her to a secluded place near west Delhi’s Dwaraka which is one of the sought-after residential areas and raped her.
According to RA Sanjeev, Deputy Commissioner of Police, the woman works in a shopping mall in Rajouri Garden near west Delhi.
The driver who allegedly raped her has been identified as 38-year old Ramesh Kumar. The police said that after the woman hired the taxi, Ramesh took another passenger and dropped him at Rajapuri. He then took the victim to an isolated area on the pretext of filling CNG and then raped her.
According to the rape survivor, the driver of the cab (Ramesh) punched her on the face and slapped her on the head while she tried to get him off her. The cry of the woman was heard by a scooterist who was passing by and who in turn informed the police patrol van which was stationed just 75 meters away from the crime scene.
On seeing the police, Ramesh tried to escape in his car with the woman still in the back seat. This was followed by a chase that stopped just half a kilometre away. Sanjeev was quoted by The Times of India saying “the driver tried to escape but we arrested him”.
Ramesh Kumar is a resident in Najafgarh area of Delhi and has been a taxi driver since 1996. The police have booked him under charges of rape, wrongful confinement, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.
A similar incident took place in Delhi on December 5 where a woman was raped by a Uber taxi driver, who is currently facing trial. This incident led to the blacklisting of Uber Taxi Service in Delhi.
Another case of harassment was reported from Bengaluru where a Delhi girl who hired an Ola auto was attacked by the driver in the middle of the city’s busy road. According to the Facebook post of the girl, the driver who misbehaved with her hit her hard four times after she protested. The girl has filed a formal complaint with the police in addition to which she has also written to Ola Cab services asking them to take stringent action against the driver.
The victim wrote in her complaint to the Ola Cab services: “Last evening your Ola Auto physically harassed me and tormented me in the middle of the street in Bangalore. He even kept repeatedly saying he is an Ola auto while he slapped and hit me several times. I want OLA to take a harsh and quick action against this auto driver. I am filing an FIR and if needed I can give them his Ola details. I will not hesitate in adding media houses to this conversation. Attaching his License plate for your reference. KA 09 AC 641”.
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Latest update: He languished in jail for over four months for a sexual assault which the court says he never committed. His children were mocked and ostracised in school and his family was reduced to penury. His brother, who was looking after the family, went into depression.
For 35-year-old Ramesh Kumar, life took a sudden turn on April 9 this year when he says he demanded his agreed fare of Rs 500 from a woman who had hired his cab late at night in Dwarka. As an argument ensued, the woman tried to bite her way out and flee. When he tried to stop her, cops reached the spot, alerted by a PCR call made by a passerby about a brawl.
Thanks to a fast-track court, Kumar’s ordeal ended a few days ago when he was acquitted of the charges.