Bengaluru Bike Taxi Row: rapido Ride Turns Violent; Driver Detained, Police File Fir

A disturbing altercation betwixt a Rapido motorcycle taxi driver and a female rider successful Bengaluru's Jayanagar has triggered nationalist outrage aft a video of nan incident went viral connected societal media. The woman, reportedly employed astatine a jewellery store, confronted nan rider complete rash driving and chose to disembark mid-ride. The business escalated rapidly, culminating successful beingness battle captured connected camera.

The conflict intensified owed to a connection barrier: nan female communicated successful English, while nan driver, identified arsenic Suman S, said only Kannada. Tensions mounted erstwhile nan female allegedly refused to salary nan fare and return nan helmet. According to police, she struck nan rider first, prompting Suman to retaliate by slapping her, causing her to autumn to nan ground.

Despite nan altercation unfolding successful a nationalist space, onlookers did not intervene. The viral video shows some parties pleading pinch bystanders, but nary 1 stepped guardant to de-escalate nan conflict.

However, a caller CCTV clip has emerged which shows nan female hitting him first, arsenic claimed by nan rider, Suman S, earlier. In nan video, pinch a timestamp of 9.38 am, nan female was seen hitting nan man connected his motorcycle repeatedly. The man past sewage disconnected his motorcycle and continued to reason pinch nan woman. She was seen hitting him again.

Suman has been detained, and a constabulary lawsuit has been revenge against him. The FIR names charges nether Sections 115(2) (attempt to origin hurt), 352 (assault aliases criminal force), and 79 (uttering obscene words successful a nationalist place) of nan Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). His conveyance number is KA-05-KJ-2897.

The driver claimed nan business worsened aft nan rider demanded an unsafe stop. “She kept asking maine to extremity while I was successful nan mediate of nan road. I explained that personification would deed america from down if we stopped there,” he said.

Suman besides admitted to making a xenophobic remark, telling nan female to "go backmost to your country." He further alleged that she abused him and grabbed his collar. “She asked if I was knowledgeable and continued to beryllium rude. I asked astir nan payment, but she kept abusing me. She deed maine doubly pinch a tiffin box, and that’s erstwhile I deed her back,” he said.

Initially reluctant to lodge a complaint, nan female approached nan Jayanagar Police Station aft nan video surfaced and her friends encouraged her to act. In her complaint, she accused nan driver of reckless driving and beingness assault, stating that he utilized abusive connection and assaulted her successful a nationalist space.

The incident comes astatine a captious clip for motorcycle taxi services successful Karnataka. Just days earlier, nan Karnataka High Court declined to enactment a directive banning motorcycle taxis. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy reiterated that utilizing privately registered two-wheelers for commercialized purposes is illegal, noting that nan services lacked due licences.

Rapido, a starring level offering specified services, has responded by suspending its motorcycle taxi operations and launching a caller offering, ‘Bike Parcel’, to comply pinch regulatory guidelines.