‘Ashamed’ Bengaluru auto driver denies slapping woman passenger

BENGALURU: Autorickshaw driver Mutturaj R, 47, arrested by Magadi Road police for allegedly slapping a woman passenger for cancelling a trip, was released on bail six days later on Wednesday afternoon. He said he felt ashamed of having behaved the way he had with someone who was like his daughter.

"When I reached the station, police showed me the video recorded by the woman. The moment I saw it, I felt ashamed of myself for having spoken such bad words to the girl, who is as old as my elder son. She is like my daughter," Mutturaj told TOI.

"I wholeheartedly agree I shouldn't have abused the girl, but I didn't assault her. I only tried to snatch the mobile phone," he said, adding: "Hang me to death if she or police prove I assaulted her."

Mutturaj, a resident of Chikkalasandra, operates a rented auto to support his family. After dropping a customer near LuLu Mall, Binnypet, on Sept 3, he received a trip request on his Ola app, with the pickup marked at IV Cross, Rajajinagar VI Block. After accepting the trip, Mutturaj learned the pickup location was almost 2km away. So, he called the customer, and she asked him to come and pick her up.

"I reached the location in three minutes and waited for the customer for two minutes before calling her. She said she was coming in two minutes and asked me to wait. Two women climbed down from a building after five minutes. I saw them getting into an auto, and when the driver was taking a turn, she cancelled my booking," Mutturaj said.

"I thought it was a roadside pickup, so I stopped the auto and questioned the woman in Kannada. She spoke to me in Hindi and asked, ‘kyun bhaiyya?' The woman who had booked the other auto spoke rashly, saying it was her wish and asking who I was to question her (mera marzi hai, thum koan ho poochne keliye?)," he narrated.

"The woman who booked my auto took her mobile phone. I was under the impression she was going to call the police but after a couple of minutes, I found she was recording. I lost patience and tried to snatch the phone, but I couldn't," Mutturaj said.

After a video clip of the incident viral, the woman lodged a complaint with Magadi Road police on Sept 5. The same day, Mutturaj was summoned to the station and arrested. He was sent to central prison the following day.

"When I was taken to prison, the jailer and other prison staff identified me as the auto driver who had fought with the woman, as they had watched the video uploaded on social media," he said.


Assn helped him get bail

"A few drivers and I gave around Rs 33,000 to Mutturaj's family for bail. The advocate charged them Rs 30,000. Our association will speak to Ola and other aggregators who have blocked him. We will also speak to RTO officials and request them not to cancel his driving licence," said Raghu Narayana Gowda, president of Peace Auto & Cab Drivers Association.

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