BENGALURU: A 30-year-old woman leapt from a moving auto-rickshaw in East Bengaluru on Thursday night when she realised the driver was deviating from her intended route and heading towards an unfamiliar destination.
The woman is yet to file an official complaint with the police regarding the incident, but her husband, a businessman, has posted her ordeal on X, tagging Bengaluru city police. He alleged that the driver was drunk.
Azhar Khan, a resident of Thanisandra, mentioned in his post that his wife booked an auto-rickshaw through the 'Namma Yatri' app from Horamavu to her house in Thanisandra.
The driver picked her up around 8.52pm from near her office. On the way, the driver rode towards Hebbal. Despite her requests for the driver to stop, he didn’t listen, forcing her to jump out of the moving auto when it slowed down around 9.15pm.
Speaking to TOI, Khan said, “My wife went to the office to meet a few staff regarding their work. When she was returning home, she booked an auto-rickshaw through the Namma Yatri app. She sensed that the driver was drunk as his eyes were red. After he started the trip, when the auto reached Nagavara, the driver took the flyover instead of heading towards Thanisandra."
"My wife immediately questioned him about why he was taking the wrong route, but he didn’t answer her. She made repeated requests for the driver to stop the vehicle, but he didn’t listen. When the vehicle slowed down on the down ramp, she jumped from the moving vehicle," Khan said.
Luckily, she didn’t sustain injuries. As she started walking, the driver approached her, asking her to get into the vehicle and promising to drop her off. She refused, paid the money for the ride online, and later hired another auto-rickshaw to return home, Khan said.
My wife was updating me about her ordeal, but I couldn’t connect to her due to network issues.
"As the driver took the wrong route, my wife texted me regarding the same. I tried reaching out to her, but due to network issues, I was not able to connect to her. She messaged me again after jumping from the auto. We were able to speak only after she took another auto. There is no facility to connect to the 'Namma Yatri' during such emergency situations. When we contacted Yatri asking for the details of the auto registration number and driver details, they told us they need 24 hours," Khan said.
"It is a matter of women's safety. If a woman can undergo such an ordeal at 9 pm, what about women working till late at night?" Khan questioned.
She is so scared of the auto driver as he appeared so dangerous and suggested to me not to file a complaint. But following my post on X, the police have contacted me, and I will be lodging a complaint," he added. Khan’s wife works as a backend staff member in a private firm.
HM Chaithanya Swamy is a Special Correspondent at The Times of In...
Read MoreHM Chaithanya Swamy is a Special Correspondent at The Times of India, Bengaluru, with 15 years of experience. He has established a strong reputation in crime and civic reporting, covering a wide range of issues including traffic challenges, cybercrime, and criminal trends in Bengaluru. His reporting spans high-profile investigations led by agencies including National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Directorate of Enforcement (ED), as well as key state police agencies, court proceedings, and crimes against women and children.
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