BENGALURU: Members of the Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers’ Union on Monday staged a protest against a woman from Bihar, who hit an auto driver with her footwear at Bellandur in the city on Saturday.
The members and their supporters gathered at Freedom Park in the city and raised slogans against the woman. They demanded that a law be formulated to protect their rights.
Addressing reporters, M Manjunath, president of the union, said, “There is no safety for auto and taxi drivers in the city. They are not able to work peacefully.”
The office-bearers of the union alleged that the police will not support auto drivers even if they are not at fault. They said they will submit a representation to the state government seeking protection for auto and taxi drivers. If their rights are violated, the police must act against the violators, they added.
‘Kannadigas forgive us’
Meanwhile, in a video, Pankhuri Mishra, 28, who had attacked auto driver Lokesh with her footwear, and her husband are seen apologising to Lokesh and his family with folded hands.
She said that her attack on Lokesh was not intentional. “I am pregnant. I panicked and behaved that way,” she said in Kannada.
“We request all Kannadigas to forgive us. We have respect for auto drivers and we love Bengaluru,” she said.