Chennai: Woman escapes sexual assault by Ola driver and his friends
Ola spokesperson revealed that the driver involved in the incident was blacklisted and his services were terminated.
Chennai: An Ola cab driver and his friends attempted to misbehave with a 26-year-old woman passenger near Injambakkam on Sunday night. The trio - identified as Venkatesan, cab driver and his comrades Muthupandi and Sakthi — were arrested by the City police.
Sources said the woman victim who works in the Emergency Response wing of a private hospital in Anna Nagar and resides there had visited her friend in Injambakkam. She took her friend's help and booked an Ola cab to go to work and she boarded Venkatesan's cab.
When the cab reached VGP Peace Temple street on East Coast Road, the driver halted the car and two men boarded the rear and restrained the woman passenger's movement by making her sit in between them. Venkatesan made the excuse that they were his friends and that they would get down en route to Anna Nagar. The doctor who felt uncomfortable with what was happening alerted her friend about the development and began screaming when the men started making advances to her.
A motorist who sized up the situation in the cab also heard the doctor's screams and he intercepted the car. Venkatsean's friends who were in the rear seat, took to their heels soon after the car came to a halt. Meanwhile, the doctor's friend had alerted the control room. The police patrol vehicle which came to the spot took away Venkatesan. The doctor later preferred a formal complaint with the Neelankarai Police who had registered a case.
Based on the inputs from Venkatesan, his friends were traced. It is evident that they boarded the cab with the ulterior motive of harassing the girl. They have been booked under section 4 of Women Harassment (Prevention) Act. Meanwhile, the Ola spokesperson revealed that the driver involved in the incident was blacklisted and his services were terminated.
