BENGALURU: A day after an Ola cab driver abandoned a woman passenger midway on the BK Halli-Bagalur Road late on Thursday night, City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao issued an advisory to all cab aggregators to avoid taking this alternative route to the Kempegowda International Airport between 7 pm and 7 am.
In case of a violation, the trade licence will be cancelled, Mr Rao warned.
He said that the advisory has been issued keeping public safety in mind. The BK Halli-Bagalur road often taken by cab drivers is not properly lit and is not safe until it is marked so.
On Thursday night, a 32-year-old woman travelling in an Ola cab pressed the emergency button as she realised that the driver was taking the road with no streetlights. The driver ignored her pleas and dumped her mid-way. Despite pressing the emergency button, Ola allegedly took two hours to respond to her calls.
The cab driver was arrested after the woman filed a complaint with the International Airport police.
“If any cab aggregator is found violating the rule, the Bengaluru police will prepare a document to cancel their trade licence," Mr Rao said.
Ola in a statement said that it has issued strict instructions to all driver-partners not to take the alternative route to KIA and to take the toll road. Ola warned of immediate termination if any driver is found violating the rule.
The BK Halli-Bagalur Road is popular among cab drivers for its proximity to KIA from areas like Whitefield and they can avoid paying the toll on NH 44. But this alternate route is not lit properly and is prone to crimes.
A Kolkata-based model-cum freelance event manager Pooja Singh Dey was brutally murdered by an Ola cab driver H.M. Nagesh while she was travelling in his cab to the KIA in July this year.
