BENGALURU: A woman in Bengaluru has accused a Rapido bike taxi rider of attempting to grab her legs during a ride on Friday.In an Instagram post detailing the incident, the woman said it took place while she was returning to her paying guest accommodation from Church Street.
“The captain (rider) tried to grab my legs while riding. It happened so suddenly that I couldn’t even process it, let alone record it,” she wrote.She said she confronted the rider when it happened again, telling him to stop. “I told him, ‘Bhaiya, kya kar rahe ho, mat karo (What are you doing? Don’t do this…)’ but he didn’t stop,” she alleged.
The woman said she didn’t ask him to stop midway as she was new to the city and didn’t know the route. Upon reaching her destination, a bystander noticed her distress and confronted the rider after she narrated what had happened. “The captain apologised and said he wouldn’t do it again — but as he left, he pointed his finger at me in a way that made me feel even more unsafe,” she wrote.“I’m sharing this because no woman should have to go through something like this — not in a cab, not on a bike, not anywhere,” she said, adding that this was not the first time she had faced such behaviour.The Bengaluru City Police responded to her post on Instagram, asking her to share the location and her contact details to initiate a formal investigation.
Rapido, meanwhile, issued a statement expressing concern over the incident. “We are concerned to learn about the captain’s inappropriate conduct during your recent ride. Your safety and comfort remain our top priorities. Kindly allow us some time to investigate the matter in detail,” the company said.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
