Woman raped by Rapido driver, friend

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a horrific incident, a 22-year old woman was allegedly gangraped by the driver of an app-based bike taxi service and his friend in the city. Sources from police said that the incident had taken place on the midnight of November 25 but came to light only after the victim filed a complaint with the Electronic City police.

Speaking to News Trail, an officer from Electronic City police said that the victim, hailing from Kerala, was working as a freelancer for a city-based private firm near BTM Layout. "She had booked a Rapido bike ride from BTM Layout to visit her friend at Neeladri Road near Electronic City. The driver, who came to pick up, noticed that she was drunk," he said.

It is alleged that the victim was in an inebriated state which the accused took advantage of by taking her to his friend's room instead of dropping her at the destination point. As per the complaint, there was another woman already present in the room who is suspected to be the accused's girlfriend.

The accused reportedly called another friend following which both men allegedly took turns at raping the unconscious victim. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Bengaluru Police Commissioner CH Pratap Reddy said the South East division police have arrested three persons including the woman who failed to help the victim despite knowing about the incident.

The accused were identified as Shahabuddin and Akhtar, both from Bengaluru, while the accused woman hails from West Bengal. It is said that Shahabuddin was the Rapido driver while Akhtar was working in a mobile shop. The top cop further said that the accused are aged 22 and 23.

"Following the incident, the victim reportedly gained consciousness around 5 am on Saturday and left the place after being warned by the accused against revealing anything about the incident," he said. "Feeling terrible pain, the woman was admitted to St John's Hospital where the doctors examined her and alerted the police. Based on her complaint, an FIR was filed immediately and the accused were traced and arrested by the police," the Commissioner of Police added.

Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru, South East, CK Baba said that the police have collected the necessary evidence while conducting the spot inspection at the room of the accused. On being asked about the reliability of safety standards, especially for women using app-based transport services, Pratap Reddy said that recently an antecedent verification was conducted by the Bengaluru CCB following which personnel have collected information on the appbased taxi firms.