A 21-year-old dubbing artiste has filed a police complaint against bike-taxi service aggregator Rapido and one of its drivers, saying he "misbehaved with her" during a ride over two weeks ago.
Although police have opened a case of sexual harassment under IPC Section 354A against the driver and Rapido, they believe that the complaint was false and filed with "malicious intent". They plan to take action against the woman.
The woman hails from the Kolar district and has been living in Hoodi, KR Puram, East Bengaluru, with a friend. She works as a dubbing artiste in Jakkur.
According to her police complaint, the driver "groped" her on the Hennur service road at around 10.30 pm on October 30. She claimed that he touched her private parts. She had booked the ride to travel from Jakkur to Babusapalya.
The complaint, filed the next day, named the driver, Manjunath Thippeswamy, 25, and mentioned his vehicle number (KA 51 H 5965).
An officer from the Hennur police station, where the complaint was lodged, said the complaint was "concocted".
"She did not travel in the mentioned vehicle. The ride was cancelled. We have verified the trip history. The ride that she is talking about did not take place," the officer told DH.
The officer said that the woman had "issues" with Rapido and said that the complaint was filed "with malicious intent".
"She wasted our time. We will take appropriate action to make sure she doesn't file such complaints in the future," the officer said.
According to the officer, the matter would be brought to the notice of the higher-ups for necessary further action.
The woman did not answer phone calls when DH tried to contact her. The driver could not be reached for comment.
Rapido has not yet released a statement about the incident.
Published 16 November 2022, 10:39 IST