B'luru Ola driver row: Driver arrested for assaulting student, to incur Rs 30,000 expenses for bail
Bengaluru: An Ola autorickshaw driver, R Muthuraj, was arrested by Magadi Road police for slapping and threatening a college student after she cancelled a ride. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday evening, was captured on the student’s mobile phone and quickly went viral, sparking widespread public outrage.
Muthuraj has been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) s.74 (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and s.352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace). The Chikkalasandra resident was denied station bail and was instead presented before the court, where he was remanded to judicial custody.
A senior police officer stressed on the gravity of the situation, stating, "This was a rogue act. The accused verbally abused and physically assaulted a young woman in broad daylight, all because she cancelled a ride. Such behaviour is unacceptable, and we decided to bring him before the court to demonstrate the seriousness of the offence."
ALSO READ: Does your father pay for the gas? B’luru auto driver abuses woman passenger over ride cancellation
Muthuraj now faces at least four days in custody and is expected to incur legal expenses of around Rs 30,000 to secure bail. "He'll have to wait until Monday to apply for bail, and even if it's granted, the paperwork won't be completed until Tuesday or Wednesday," an investigating officer explained.
When questioned, Muthuraj admitted to losing his temper over the cancelled ride but was unable to justify his actions.
The incident has led to authorities considering suspending Muthuraj's driving license. C Mallikarjuna, additional commissioner of transport (enforcement), confirmed that a report has been sought from the jurisdictional RTO to initiate action against the driver.
Ola has not responded to inquiries about its policy on ride cancellations or the actions taken against the driver.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
