BENGALURU: Just a little over a month after a 24-year-old woman passenger heading to the airport was molested and threatened by a cab driver, another woman, also in her mid-20s, almost fell victim to similar circumstances in the early hours of Thursday.
Had the Chikkajala police and the toll gate staff on Bellary Road not rescued her in time after she raised an alarm, this 25-year-old woman employee of a multinational company, could have fallen victim to a horrendous act.
The woman has alleged in her complaint with Chikkajala police that an Ola cab driver Suresh Kumar B (28) — who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol — tried to abduct her before misbehaving, while she was on the way to the airport.
A senior police officer said, “Around 1.45 am, the woman passenger had booked the cab from her residence in Hennur to Kempegowda International Airport to fly to Mumbai. As the cab reached near the toll gate, the driver allegedly changed lanes and started heading towards Hyderabad instead of going on the left ramp which leads to KIA.
The alert woman found that Suresh was in an inebriated state and asked him to take the cab towards the airport. But, he started misbehaving with her and threatened her to keep quiet. When Suresh was passing the second toll gate, the woman raised an alarm to catch attention of the toll plaza employees, who immediately stopped the cab and helped her get out of the cab.”
She immediately called the police control room while the staff at the toll caught Suresh and handed over to the police.
The police team which arrived at the spot also helped her book another cab to enable her to reach the airport on time for her flight.
Suresh Kumar, a resident of Kammanahalli, was handed over to judicial custody after interrogation.
The police officer said Suresh has been booked on charges of kidnapping and drunk driving. However, he is reported to have told the police during interrogation that he took a drive towards Hyderabad route to skip the toll and save money.
The woman, according to him, mistook him and made allegations against him. “We also verified his background and found that he was not involved in such incidents earlier,” the officer said.