Mumbai: A 36-year-old driver of an Ola cab was arrested for allegedly molesting a 24-year-old woman bank professional in his vehicle on May 21, the police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Sureshkumar Yadav, was picked up by Powai police on the day of the incident itself, a senior officer said.
Yadav is a resident of Kharghar in Navi Mumbai.
The alleged incident occurred on Monday evening after the woman hired the cab at Nariman Point in south Mumbai for Chandivali near suburban Powai, a distance of over 30 km, where she was supposed to meet her friend, the officer said.
“During journey, the woman who was sitting on the front seat of the cab felt giddy and fell asleep. She woke up when she felt that the driver was touching her inappropriately when the car was passing Eastern Freeway,” he said.
Initially, the woman thought that the touch was unintentional and didn’t confront the driver. However, after realising that the driver was harassing her she called up her friend and narrated the incident, the officer said.
“However, by the time her friend reached Powai the car had left the spot after dropping the woman,” he said.
The woman and her friend then approached Powai police station and lodged a complaint against the cab driver, said senior inspector Anil Pophale.
He said a case was registered against Yadav under appropriate IPC sections for outraging modesty of a woman.
Yadav was produced in local court on Tuesday which remanded him in police custody till Thursday, Pophale said.
“We regret the unfortunate incident that occurred during the ride. We have zero tolerance for such incidents and the driver has been blacklisted from the platform as an immediate action upon receiving the complaint”, an Ola spokesperson said in a statement.
“Safety of customers is our priority and we are extending full support to the police authorities in further investigation,” it stated.
