BENGALURU: An incident of road rage involving a woman motorist quickly snowballed into a molestation case. However, the woman withdrew her complaint the following day stating that she had pressed the charges in anger.
Around 12.20 pm on March 19, Uma’s (name changed) car met with an accident with another car driven by Ramesh (name changed) on Water Tank Road in Kumaraswamy Layout. Ramesh was taking his mother to visit a doctor. An argument ensued, with both sides blaming the other for negligence.
As the commotion continued in the middle of the road, holding up traffic, passersby and other motorists came to pacify them, but to no avail. Some of the commuters vented their ire at Uma and Ramesh by banging on their vehicles with their fists, according to police.
As Ramesh was heading to a hospital, he left the place. Assuming that the people who hit her car had come in support of Ramesh, Uma went to Kumarswamy Layout police station and filed a complaint stating that she was manhandled in the middle of the road.
Police registered a case under IPC Sec 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) and Ramesh was taken into custody the next day based on the car registration number provided by Uma. Kumarswamy Layout police later asked Uma to come to police station to identify the accused.
By then, Uma had realized that she had falsely pressed the charges against Ramesh in a fit of rage. Realizing her mistake, she came to police station and confessed that she had lodged the complaint under stress, apologised to the man and also withdrew the complaint, police said.
Police said, “They could have sorted out the issue as it was a minor incident. But it led to all this drama. There are instances where people misuse the law, but they must realise it will spoil other people’s lives.”