Bengaluru: Woman allegedly forced to strip, pose for pics by Ola driver

A 26-year-old woman in Bengaluru who had taken an Ola Cab from the city to catch an early morning flight to Mumbai had nightmarish experience after her driver held her captive and threatened to rape her.

The woman, a resident of JB Nagar had taken a cab at 2 am to Kempegowda International Airport on June 1

But on the trip, the woman, an architect by profession realised that the driver had taken a different route. 

When asked, the driver said it was an easier and toll-free route. But near the airport, when she found that he had taken a secluded road and asked him to turn around. The driver, however, locked the car and tried to molest her. When she tried to fight back he threatened to call a group of men and get her raped. He also snatched her phone and threatened to kill her if she screamed for help

He then asked her to her to strip as he wanted her pictures. He tried to strangle her when she refused. Fearing for her life, the woman complied and gave him the photos he wanted. He clicked the pictures on her phone and shared it through WhatsApp to his phone number.   

The driver dropped the woman at the airport at around 3 am.

Based on the woman's complaint, police arrested the driver identified as V Arun and confiscated the cab. 

Police also confirmed that Ola had not completed the mandatory police verification for the driver involved in the case. They have issued a notice to Ola in this regard. 

Ola in a statement said, "We regret the unfortunate incident that our customer experienced. We have zero tolerance for such incidents. The driver has been blacklisted from the platform as an immediate action upon receiving the complaint. Safety of our customers is our top priority. We are extending our full support to the police authorities in their investigation." 

The spokesperson also added “The driver-partner in question holds a valid police verification check that confirms no criminal cases have been recorded against him. This is a mandatory process for all driver-partners who operate on our platform."