BENGALURU: For this 24-year-old IT professional a ride back home from office on a two-wheeler on Tuesday evening turned into a nightmare. The trouble started when Ranjitha, a native of Tamil Nadu, along with her colleague reached Kormanagala 3rd block near water tank.
While waiting at the signal, she noticed that a rogue auto-rickshaw driver was leering at her. When Ranjitha confronted him, he allegedly hurled abuses at her. The situation turned ugly when Ranjitha tried to stop the auto-driver, by holding on to his vehicle. He sped away, dragging her for about 100 metres.
The alleged assault took place around 8.40 pm when Ranjitha, a resident of Kormangala I Block, was returning home along with her colleague Ashish from her office in Electronics City. When they reached a traffic junction, the auto driver, Madhusudan, began leering at the victim.
Narrating her ordeal, Ranjitha told this newspaper, “I was on my two-wheeler waiting at traffic junction along with my colleague, when I noticed the auto-rickshaw driver continuously staring at me. He was also murmuring something to himself. I felt uncomfortable and confronted him. To my shock, the auto-driver hurled abuses at me in Kannada and Hindi. I got down from my two-wheeler and went near his auto. The driver continued hurling abuses at me. While he was leaving the spot as the signal cleared, I held on to his auto and asked him to come out so that we can sort it out at a police station. But he drove the auto-rickshaw and I held on to it tightly. He dragged me for nearly 100 metres. I was hurt and had abrasions on my knee,” she added.
She further said, “The passenger who was sitting in the auto couldn’t believe at what the driver was up to and held my wrist in order to save me from falling from a running auto-rickshaw.”
The accused driver stopped the auto-rickshaw only after a couple of passersby flagged him down at the next traffic junction and informed the traffic policeman standing nearby. Alwin, a city-based techie and one of the eye-witnesses told this newspaper, “I was heading home and was crossing Koramangala III Block when I saw a woman being dragged by an auto. The girl was continuously shouting for help asking the driver to stop the vehicle, but, he continued driving until few of us stopped him at the next junction.”
An injured Ranjitha approached the Koramangala police station and lodged a complaint against the auto driver. A case has been registered in Koramangala police station under section 504 and 509 of IPC in this regard.
Charges withdrawn
However, Koramangala police informed that Madhusudan was able to walk free on Wednesday morning after Ranjitha agreed to drop all charges and settle the case.
