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Ola passenger was 'molested' by unregistered driver

Suspect drove with previous driver's log-in details at cab owner's behest
Last Updated 02 May 2017, 21:15 IST

In a dramatic twist, police on Tuesday absolved an Ola cab driver who was initially suspected to have molested a woman passenger in a desolate place in southern Bengaluru around 2 am on April 28. They instead apprehended an unregistered driver after she identified him positively.

In a police complaint on Sunday, the woman had alleged that the Ola driver, Ravikumar M, had sexually harassed her in Begur. But when police picked him up, he vociferously denied committing the crime. He said he had logged out of the Ola platform in February 2017. Police weren’t convinced. They showed his photograph to the woman. To their surprise, she said it wasn’t him.

The revelation made police’s job tougher. It was only after they picked up the cab owner, Navin Rajput, that all the pieces fell into place. Rajput, a native of Uttar Pradesh, confirmed that Ravikumar was no longer driver his cab. He said the man driving the cab at that time was 25-year-old Imran Khan, from Madhya Pradesh, who was not registered with Ola and had used the log-in details of Ravikumar, a police officer said. Both Rajput and Khan are residents of BTM Layout.

Police then arrested both Khan and Rajput. With the arrests, the flaws in the driver verification of Ola cabs have come into focus, raising concerns about the credibility of the background checks of drivers and the safety of passengers. Police suspect that the fact that Khan was virtually off-records emboldened him to commit the crime. He had been driving since February without being registered.

Police are investigating if he could be involved in more such crimes.

Ravikumar told police he had asked Rajput to give back his documents, including the police verification certificate, but the latter kept dodging him. “Rajput knowingly abetted the offence of impersonation committed by Khan in place of Ravikumar,” said a senior police officer.

Shockingly, following the woman’s complaint, Rajput and Khan reportedly went to the Ola office and tried to erase Ravikumar’s log-in details by entering the name of another driver. A separate investigation is now under way with respect to the destruction of evidence. Police are also examining the involvement of Ola management. They have seized a mobile phone and the said cab.

Khan has been booked for molestation and impersonation while Rajput faces charges of abetment, impersonation and destruction of evidence.

Tweets create confusion
Narayana M @dcpwhitefield tweeted: “Arrested and interrogating the Ola driver Ravikumar After investigation clear picture will emerge (sic)”

“Bommanhalli police arrested Ola Cab driver Ravikumar KA-O1-AE-8727 who allegedly misbehaved with a lady passenger on 28th night (sic).”

The tweets still show up on his Twitter handle despite clarification about the suspect.
DH News Service

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(Published 02 May 2017, 21:15 IST)

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