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BENGALURU: A Rapido bike-taxi driver was arrested on Saturday in Bengaluru on charges of sexually harassing a 20-year-old woman during a trip. Lokesh (28), designated as “Rapido Captain” as the ride-hailing service calls its drivers, is accused of harassing the woman on Thursday. She shared her ordeal on Instagram, leading cops to take cognisance. The woman is undergoing training for an airline cabin crew job and stays in a PG facility. “In Bengaluru (Karnataka), I faced something I never thought I would. The captain tried to grab my legs while riding. I told him, ‘Bhaiya, kya kar rahe ho, mat karo, (brother, what are you doing, don’t do this’), but he didn’t stop. I was terrified. I couldn’t ask him to stop the bike because I am new to this place and didn’t know where I was,” she posted. Upon reaching the destination, the 20-year-old broke down. Seeing her in that condition, a passerby confronted the bike driver, who apologised, “but while leaving, he pointed a finger at me in a way that made me feel even more unsafe”, the woman added in her Instagram post. DCP (central) Akshay M Hakay said the cops took note of the video and contacted her. “She was called to the police station on Friday. After the officers took her into confidence, she lodged a complaint and a case was registered under BNS Section 75 (sexual harassment),” the DCP added. A senior officer quoted driver Lokesh as saying during interrogation that he had back pain and “tried to reach out for his back with the intention of giving it a rub”.
