Rapido auto driver gropes woman passenger in Bengaluru; terminated

A Rapido auto driver has been booked for allegedly molesting a woman passenger during a ride in Bengaluru last week.

The incident occurred on September 8. Hanumanthappa H Talawar reportedly picked the woman passenger from Kumaraswamy Layout near Dayananda Sagar College in Banashankari at around 4: 30 pm, NDTV reported.

According to the woman passenger, the Rapido driver inappropriately touched her chest.

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Narrating her ordeal, she said Talawar made her uncomfortable by repeatedly telling her she looked like a film actress. He even offered to help with her bags. The Rapido auto driver touched her forehead to check for a fever before groping her chest.

She escaped by jumping out of the moving auto and rushed home to safety.

Based on her mother’s complaint, Talawar was booked for sexual harassment. However, the police are yet to arrest him.

Auto driver terminated, says Rapido

In response, Rapido issued a statement expressing deep concern and said it has a zero-tolerance policy against harassment. “No one should ever feel unsafe or harassed while using our platform. Upon learning of the matter, we immediately reached out to the passenger to offer support and assured her of strict action. The captain has since been permanently suspended and blacklisted to ensure he cannot take rides in the future,” read the statement.

It said that it is cooperating with the investigations. “The trust and safety of our passengers, especially women, are non-negotiable at Rapido; we maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of harassment. We also have multiple safeguards in place, including post-10:00 pm safety calls to women riders to confirm ride completion, 24×7 in-app SOS support with rapid escalation, and continuous safety reminders urging riders to verify vehicle and captain details before every trip,” the statement read.

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