Police, alert passerby avert rerun of Uber rape case

New Delhi, Apr 10: A passerby and alert staff of a PCR van averted rerun of the last year's Uber rape case in southwest Delhi's Dwarka area here when a taxi driver who was trying to sexually assault a woman passenger was chased and arrested by the police.

The accused has been identified as Ramesh Kumar (38) a resident of Najafgarh, Delhi. It all began around 10:20 PM on Thursday, when the woman who works at a mall in Rajouri Garden in West Delhi got down at Dwarka Mor metro station and boarded a taxi towards Madhu Vihar.

One more passenger had taken the same taxi who got down at Rajapuri. "Soon after this, the taxi driver parked the vehicle by the side of the road. He got into the rear seat and forcefully tried to disrobe the victim.

"When she resisted, he slapped and punched her on face and head. Accused Ramesh Kumar also assaulted her and threatened her with life if she shouted," said DCP (southwest) R A Sanjeev.

Later, accused Kumar started the taxi and was moving towards Madhu Vihar. In the mean time, a passerby heard the cries of the victim for help and informed the nearby PCR van.

The police chased the taxi and apprehended the accused, he added. SHO Dwarka (North) Police Station reached the spot along with a woman Sub Inspector and rushed the victim to a nearby hospital.

Police registered a case under sections 376 (Rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code on the statement of the victim and the accused was arrested.

Police registered a case of rape in the matter as under the amended definition of rape law, trying to disrobe a woman with intent to sexually assault also comes under section 376 of IPC.

The accused is a class nine dropout and has been driving taxi since 1996. In December last year, a 27-year-old woman was allegedly raped by the driver of an Uber cab she had hired to return home from a dinner party in Gurgaon.

The incident took place when the woman, who worked for a finance company in Gurgaon, was heading back to her home in north Delhi's Inderlok area.

PTI