Bengaluru: A woman has narrated her horrific ordeal when she got into a “fake” Ola cab from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The incident has only added to the growing concern over women’s safety while using cab-hailing services, especially at night.
Reportedly, the woman named Nikita Malik wrote on X about the incident, underlining the risks that unauthorised drivers posed while posing as services like Ola.
According to Nikita Malik, on November 8, she had booked an Ola cab from the designated pick-up area of the airport at 10:30 pm. After that, a driver, not booked for her by the app, approached and said that he would be able to drop her back home. She was initially hesitant but got into the vehicle, only to soon realize that all was not well when the driver did not ask for the mandatory OTP and instead asked her to directly input her destination into his personal Maps app. The driver said that there is some malfunction happened in his official app.
As they approached her destination, the driver insisted upon an additional fare, which she refused to pay.
He then offered to drop her into another vehicle with the fare due, however.
Feeling threatened, Nikita asked him to take her back to the airport, but he ignored her and instead took an unscheduled stop at a petrol station and demanded Rs 500 for petrol.
Despite her coolness, she managed to quietly dial up the 112 emergency helpline and kept her family informed about her whereabouts.
The police assisted her promptly and she filed a case against the driver.
“Almost got trafficked/raped/looted/assaulted by a random cab driver who was let in by Bengaluru Airport in the Ola pickup station and impersonated to be one at terminal 1 of the airport at 10:30pm had I not called 112, I’d not be here typing this,” she alleged in the post.
She also shared pictures of her complaint that she lodged in the police station. The complaint tells the story of what happened.
She also wrote in her complaint that police officers attended to her immediately after it occurred.
See the viral post here:
almost got trafficked/raped/looted/assaulted by a random cab driver who was let in by @BLRAirport in the Ola pickup station & impersonated to be one at terminal 1 of BLR airport at 10:30pm
had I not called 112, I’d not be here typing this pic.twitter.com/QpFdlRJFjF— Dr. N (@doctorniikii) November 9, 2024
Read More: UP government proposes women’s safety initiatives: no male tailors, gym trainer, or barbers