‘Almost Got Trafficked, Raped…’: Woman Boards ‘Fake’ Cab At Bengaluru Airport
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The woman, who described her ordeal in a post on X, managed to get help by immediately calling India’s emergency helpline ‘112’ and keeping a family member informed about her situation
Police apprehended the man driving the vehicle, identified as Basavaraj. (Image: X)
A Bengaluru woman recounted her ordeal with a “fake” Ola cab driver, who allegedly tried to extort money from her when she got into his vehicle from the Kempegowda International Airport.
Describing her harrowing experience in a post on X, the woman said she “almost got trafficked/raped/looted/assaulted by a random cab driver”. She, however, managed to get help by immediately calling India’s emergency helpline ‘112’ and keeping a family member informed about her situation.
The police, who swiftly responded, reached where she was and apprehended the driver. The man was later identified as Basavaraj, who was not her assigned driver but approached her at the airport and offered to take her to her destination.
According to the woman, she arrived at the airport at 10.30 pm on November 8 (Friday). She said she boarded a cab from the airport’s pick-up spot thinking she was on an official Ola ride.
“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,” (sic) she said in her post, also putting up pictures of the vehicle and the man driving it.
She wrote that despite her reservations, she got inside the vehicle only to discover that the driver did not ask for a mandatory OTP or use the Ola app. He told her to enter her destination in a Maps app on his mobile phone, claiming that the Ola app was malfunctioning, she added.
The woman said the driver then demanded additional fare and, when she refused, he suggested she could transfer to another cab. She said she felt threatened and asked him to drop her back to the airport’s pick-up stand, but he ignored her request and took her to a pump station where he asked her to pay Rs 500 as fuel cost.
Through her post, she also raised concerns about women’s safety and airport security. Many internet users said they were “scared” after reading her complaint letter while some shared similar incidents where Ola or Uber cab drivers had allegedly harassed them.
While there was no complaint of sexual assault in this incident, incidents of molestation and abuse have been by drivers on aggregators like Rapido, Uber and Ola have been reported in the past in Bengaluru.
