Auto drivers attack, molest lady on B'lore streets

Bangalore, Jan 4: Even as the country tries to deal with various sexual abuse cases being reported from across the country, a autorickshaw driver took it to a new level in Bangalore.

A woman was molested and beaten up on the streets of the city in broad daylight for the crime of questioning the driver of the auto she was travelling in about the tampered meter.

The incident took place on Saturday, Jan 2, when the 33-year-old woman took an auto at the Old Madras road at around 11 am.

The woman reportedly stopped the auto mid way and got down paying the driver the minimum of Rs 15, say local media reports. But the driver, who demanded for Rs 50 got into an argument with the woman when she refused to pay.

And when she started walking away the driver followed her and abused her. Seeing the commotion, the auto drivers in the vicinity joined in and attacked the woman.

"They lunged at her and tore her dress," a police officer is quoted as saying in news paper reports.

What added to the shame is the fact that the police discouraged the victim from filing a complaint. It was only after the police commissioner Shankar M Bidari intervened on Sunday, Jan 3, a complaint was filed.

This comes amid the storm raised by the 1990 Ruchika molestation case. In connection with this case, the Home Ministry is also mulling over making it mandatory for all police complaints to be treated as FIRs.

OneIndia News