Rapido bike taxi rider held for molesting woman passenger in Kalyan, looting Rs 1000

Thane, Dec 15 (PTI) A Rapido bike taxi rider was arrested in Kalyan in Thane district for allegedly molesting a 26-year-old woman passenger and stealing Rs 1000 from her, a police official said on Monday.

Rider Siddhesh Pardeshi (19), a class VII drop out, was arrested on Sunday for the incident which took place on Saturday, Mahatma Phule police station senior inspector Baliramsingh Pardeshi said.

"The accused picked up the victim from Chickenghar area after she booked a ride till her gym near Kalyan railway station at 7pm. Instead of proceeding to the intended destination, Pardeshi, who has been employed with Rapido for the last one-and-half months, diverted the scooter to a deserted, dark stretch near the police colony in Syndicate area," he said.

"When the woman objected, he stopped the scooter, grabbed her hand and behaved in an indecent manner. He also snatched her purse and took Rs 1,000 from it. The woman raised an alarm, attracting local residents who thrashed Pardeshi before handing him over to the police. We have also recovered a knife from the accused," the official said.

He has been remanded in police custody till December 18, the official said, adding a probe is underway to find out if he has been involved in similar crimes earlier.

In a release, the state transport department said it had asked organizations like Rapido, Ola, Uber, which are "illegally transporting passengers by flouting the law", to reply as to why temporary licences given to them should not be cancelled.

Department officials said state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik has called a meeting on Tuesday in view of this incident and other alleged irregularities. PTI COR BNM