Bike taxi captain arrested after 'masturbating' during ride with woman customer

A ride back home in a bike taxi turned into a nightmare for a woman in southern Bengaluru. The bike taxi captain allegedly rode with one hand and masturbated with the other. Police arrested the suspect on Saturday.

The incident unfolded while Athira Purushothaman, the victim, travelled home after attending a Manipur protest at Town Hall on Friday evening. She explained what had happened in a Twitter thread.

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She said the bike taxi captain arrived on a different two-wheeler, saying the bike shown on the app was under repair. Athira confirmed the ride with the OTP and hopped on.

“During the journey, we reached a remote area with no other vehicles around. Shockingly, the driver began riding with one hand and engaging in inappropriate behaviour (masturbating while riding the bike). Fearing for my safety, I remained silent throughout the ordeal,” she tweeted.

She said she asked him to drop her 200 metres before her actual destination because she wanted to conceal her home location. But the ordeal didn't end there. After the ride, he called and messaged her relentlessly on WhatsApp. He presumably got her phone number as she paid him through UPI.

Athira tweeted a screenshot of his chat, showing ‘Love You’ messages from him. She blocked his number but he kept calling her from different numbers, she said.

Bengaluru police responded to her tweets and promised action but tagged the wrong police station to act. The case was first sent to the SJ Park police station but was transferred to the Electronics City police station on Saturday morning.

The suspect was arrested around 2 pm. Police identified him as Kuruvettappa, a 23-year-old mason from SR Nagar. He has been booked under IPC section 354A (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures).

In response to the woman's complaint, Rapido tweeted that it had removed the captain's account for unsuitable conduct and promised her full support. It deleted the tweets later.

C K Baba, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), said Kuruvettappa had accessed the Rapido captain account of his roommate, who is currently out of town.

“Rapido captain aggregators exploit loopholes in the bike taxi service. However, the company has failed to keep a close watch on these captains, who heavily misuse the platform,” he told DH. “There are numerous irregularities with the Rapido bike taxi service."

Rapido said it "deeply regrets the unfortunate incident".

"We extend our sincere apologies to the affected customer and assure her, as well as all our customers, that we are fully dedicated to making Rapido a safer and more reliable platform for everyone," it said in a statement. The company said it took immediate and strict action against the captain involved by suspending him.

"We are fully cooperating with the investigating authorities and providing all necessary support to the affected passenger during this challenging time," the statement added.