BENGALURU: An autorickshaw driver who was under the influence of alcohol misbehaved with a female passenger in HSR Layout. The police, on learning about the incident rushed to the spot and arrested the driver, and sent him to Parappana Agrahara central jail.
The arrested has been identified as Thimme Gowda, 39, a resident of Mangammanapalya. According to the complaint filed by Sasha, 27, (name changed), a resident of HSR Layout and native of Haryana, the driver touched her inappropriately and assaulted her when she tried to fight him back.
Sasha works with an online shopping company in Bommanahalli. Around 7 pm on Saturday, she approached an autorikshaw to go home from work. The driver who was intoxicated, rode for around 700m and stopped, not knowing where to go. He continued to drive for a distance, Sasha who suspected that something was fishy, asked him to stop the vehicle. When he refused to stop, she shouted at him, asking him to stop. He stopped the vehicle in a narrow lane and started arguing with Sasha. The locals at the spot reprimanded the driver and asked him to drop her on the main road. After agreeing, he drove her till CPWD quarters. When Sasha got down from the vehicle and was about to pay him for the ride, he snatched a Rs 500 note from her. When she asked him to return the money, he got down from the vehicle and abused her. He then touched her inappropriately and even tried to tear her clothes. Locals who witnessed him misbehaving with Sasha, rushed to her rescue and caught the driver. Sasha immediately called the police control room and the nearest Hoysala patrolling vehicle rushed to the spot and detained the driver.
An investigating officer said, “We arrested Gowda based on a complaint filed by the victim. The driver, in his defence said he was riding properly, but got into an argument over tendering the change. We also alerted the traffic police, who came with the alcometer and slapped a drunk driving case against Gowda and seized his vehicle,” the officer added.