By Express News Service BENGALURU: “I knew that no one will come for her help as it was an isolated place and she was panicking as all the doors were locked. There is no chance to raise an alarm as I already snatched her mobile phone before molesting her,” Arun V, (28), the Ola driver accused of molesting a young woman architect while dropping her to the Kempegowda International Airport on June 1, told the police after his arrest by JB Nagar police. On June 1, Arun had driven the cab towards an isolated place near Kothanur and molested the 24-year-old woman passenger who was heading to the airport to take a flight to Mumbai on work. A senior police officer said, “Arun was thoroughly interrogated and we came to know that he was not involved in any crimes earlier. Arun told the police that taking advantage of the situation, he molested her and he knew that no one would come to help and he repeatedly demanded sexual favours before stopping the car. He was very confident that she will not be able to open the doors to escape.” Arun, a resident of Kasaghattapura in Chikkabanawara, is married and has two children. His family was still not aware why he was taken into police custody, JB Nagar police said.On June 1, the victim mailed a complaint to the city police commissioner alleging that she had booked a cab from Kodihalli near Indiranagar to reach Airport as she was going to fly to Mumbai and her flight was scheduled to depart at 5 am. Around 2.30 am, the driver took the Kothanur road to reach the airport. But he stopped the car on the way as she was alone and centrally locked the doors before reaching an isolated place. He started sexually harassing and threatening her not to scream. He also held her neck saying that he would call his friends to rape her if she tried to escape or raise an alarm. As she kept quiet, he allegedly snatched her mobile phone and then stripped her, clicked photos with her phone and later shared the photos via WhatsApp to him. He blackmailed her that he would upload the photos online if she revealed the incident to any one.The shocked woman however, begged him to drop her to the airport and soon after reaching Mumbai she shot off a mail to the city police commissioner about the horror. Ola spokesperson said in a statement that, “Arun, the driver-partner in question holds a valid police verification check that confirms no criminal cases had been recorded against him. We often conduct awareness programmes with our driver partners to ensure safety of all kinds of passengers. Especially, the drivers will be trained on how to behave with women passengers. But when we hear such horrific incidents we feel very bad and immediately take action against those involved in such heinous crimes.” Previous horrors in Ola December 5, 2017: An Ola driver, Rajashekar Reddy, had misbehaved with a woman on the Outer Ring Road and held her “hostage” for quite some time by locking the car doors, in the night during the ride from Indiranagar. She had twisted his arm and started banging on the door following which he stopped misbehaving. She later filed with Madiwala police. April 28, 2017: A female singer heading home from a pub in Koramangala was molested by Ola driver Imran. She, however, managed to escape from the cab and walked to a hospital. Later, she filed a case and based on information, Imran and cab owner were arrested by Bommanahalli police. May 15, 2016: An Ola driver Manjunath alias Kiran attempted to misbehave with a woman during the travel in Indiranagar and as she raised an alarm he abandoned the cab and fled the spot.<doc-sep>An Ola cab driver in Bengaluru was arrested on Tuesday for molesting a woman when she was on her way to catch an early morning flight. An Ola cab driver in Bengaluru was arrested on Tuesday for molesting a woman when she was on her way to catch an early morning flight. The woman, a 26-year-old architect based in Bengaluru, was travelling to the airport at 2 am on 1 June when the driver took a detour, held her hostage and molested her. The driver also threatened her saying his friends would gangrape her if she wouldn't comply, reported Bangalore Mirror. The driver misbehaved with her, forced her to strip and forced her to pose for pictures. When the woman reached Mumbai, she emailed the city police commissioner after which the case was transferred to Bengaluru's JB Nagar police station. Based on the complaint, the accused was arrested and was booked for molestation, wrongful confinement and attempt to murder, reports CNN-News 18. A police officer investigating the case told Mumbai Mirror, “The accused reportedly asked 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.” This is not the first time that a private cab driver has been arrested for molesting a passenger. In May 2016, a 23-year-old Belgian woman was allegedly molested by her Ola cab driver in Delhi. A month later, an Ola driver molested a judge and made sexual remarks at her. In September 2017, a woman in Hyderabad was subjected to unwelcome staring by her Ola cab driver. There have been multiple cases in other cities where private cabs operate and the lack of women's safety has been highlighted. Bangalore Mirror quoted an Ola spokesperson as,"We regret the unfortunate experience the customer had during the ride. We have zero tolerance for such incidents and the driver has been blacklisted from the platform as an immediate action upon receiving the complaint. Safety of customers is our top priority and we are extending our full support to the police authorities in their investigation." Ola recently celebrated its 2-year anniversary in India on 30 May.<doc-sep>The young woman — who had booked the taxi to catch a flight to Mumbai in the early hours — could not escape from the vehicle as it was centrally locked. A ride to the Kempegowda International Airport in an Ola cab turned out to be a nightmare for a Bengaluru-based engineer after she was allegedly molested by the driver. In her statement to the police, the 24-year-old said the driver molested her, threatened to disrobe her, tried taking photographs, and attempted to strangle her. The driver, V. Arun, 31, is in police custody. According to the police, the incident took place on June 1 around 2 a.m. The woman had booked a taxi through the Ola cab aggregator app to travel to the airport from her house in Kodihalli. The accused picked her up from her house and took a detour on the way to the airport. He parked the car in an isolated place near Doddajala, and after locking the doors, molested her. When she resisted, he tried to strangle her, the woman told the police. “She told us that he attempted to take photographs of her from his phone,” said the police. “However, he did not succeed in clicking her photos as the woman stood her ground and did not allow it to happen,” said Ajay Hilory, DCP (East). Arun was arrested later that day. Couldn’t escape The driver then dropped her at the destination with a warning not to register any complaint. The young woman — who had booked the taxi to catch a flight to Mumbai in the early hours — could not escape from the vehicle as it was centrally locked. “The victim called her father and narrated the ordeal. He advised her to immediately lodge a complaint, following which she mailed her complaint to the police commissioner from Mumbai,” a police official said. Based on the details she had provided, the police tracked down the accused V. Arun and arrested him the same day. They have registered a case against him under sections 307 (Attempt to murder), 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation, 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty). The accused is a native of Kasaghattapura near Chikkabanavara. He has no past criminal record, officials said. Zero tolerance: Ola Ola, in a statement to the media, said that the driver has been blacklisted. “We regret the unfortunate experience the customer had during the ride. We have zero tolerance for such incidents and the driver has been blacklisted from the platform as an immediate action upon receiving the complaint. Safety of customers is our top priority and we are extending our full support to the police authorities in their investigation,” an Ola spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the driver-partner in question held a valid police verification check which said that he had no criminal cases recorded against him.<doc-sep>
A 26-year-old woman from Bengaluru has accused an Ola driver of molesting her in the early hours of June 1 while she was on her way to the Bengaluru airport. The cab driver, according to the police, also forced the woman to strip and pose for pictures. The incident took place when the woman was on her way to Bengaluru International Airport from Kodihalli. The woman had booked the cab at around 2 am as she had to board a Mumbai-bound flight at 5 am. The driver had allegedly taken a detour once on the road. When the woman enquired, he reportedly said it was the fastest route. However, moments later the driver took the car to a secluded place and molested her. When the woman protested he threatened to call more men to rape her and snatched her phone. Police said that the accused then forced the woman to strip and pose for photos, which the driver shot using the victim's phone. The driver then allegedly transferred the photos to his phone via WhatsApp before handing the woman's phone back to her. The woman pleaded persistently and was later let off. After reaching Mumbai, the woman lodged a complaint with the city police commissioner. Police have identified the accused as Arun V (28). According to the police, Arun was identified on the same night within three hours after the incident took place. He is in police custody. Meanwhile Ola has issued a statement on the incident. "We regret the unfortunate experience the customer had during the ride. We have zero tolerance for such incidents and the driver has been blacklisted from the platform as an immediate action upon receiving the complaint. Safety of customers is our top priority and we are extending our full support to the police authorities in their investigation."