New Delhi: A 23-year-old Belgian on a pan-India tour was molested by an Ola cab driver in CR Park area Saturday night.
Driver Balraj Singh alias Raj, a native of Rajasthan’s Alwar district, was arrested in the wee hours of Sunday, police said. Curiously, when the woman booked the cab, she received a confirmation from Ola that driver Vikram Singh would pick her up but it later emerged that he had rented out the vehicle he owned to the accused in violation of the norms.
The woman, who said she worked as a translator, told police she had booked the cab from Gurgaon and during the journey the cab driver kissed and took pictures of her.
In a statement, Ola said the ‘‘driver’’ has been sacked. But the company did not immediately respond to questions as to how the registered owner had rented out the car to another person.
‘‘We tracked down Vikram but he did not turn out to be the driver. He owned the car. The accused was arrested after Ola assisted police in tracking the GPS locations of the car,’’ a police official said.
Taking a serious view of the incident, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has sought a report from Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on the issue. ‘‘I have asked Lt Governor of Delhi for a report on the molestation of a Belgian girl. We are committed to the safety and security of all foreign nationals in India,’’ Swaraj said in her tweets.
A case of molestation has been registered under sections IPC 354 and 354A, 354C against the accused, police said. The taxi is registered with Keshav Taxi Services in Gurgaon’s Sushant Lok area.
The Belgian has been in India since February and was travelling to a friend’s place in CR Park whom she had met during her trip to Khajuraho. Her statement has been recorded and she will return to Belgium immediately, police said.
‘‘The driver deliberately took the wrong route after Hauz Khas and when the woman told him that she will ask her friend (about the right route), he took her phone and deleted all the records related to Ola. He called her over to the front seat as ‘‘his GPS was not working’’ and then he allegedly kissed her,’’ a senior police official said. PTI
