Bengaluru Police Commissioner Apologises To Woman Journalist Over Cab Driver's Lewd Act

After a journalist booked a cab, a driver reached the spot and as soon as the journey started he allegedly tried to masturbate in front of her. 

An Ola cab (File Photo/PTI)

Chennai: An Ola cab driver allegedly masturbated in front of a woman journalist while she was on her way back home in Bengaluru in the wee hours of Friday. After the woman reported the incident on her social media page, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant apologised to her for the incident. 

According to a report on IANS, a journalist working in an English newspaper booked an Ola cab to her home in the wee hours of Friday. Following the request, a cab driver reached the spot and as soon as the journey started he allegedly tried to masturbate in front of her. 

In a series of tweets, the woman said, "A city that I call home made me feel extremely unsafe today. Took an @Olacabs around the usual time after work only to be with a driver who had the audacity to think he could masturbate in front of me. He kept at it thinking I hadn't noticed."

"As soon as I noticed, he rearranged his clothes and pretended nothing was wrong. With the little courage I had, I screamed and made him stop the cab. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a dark street. He stopped and drove off," she said.

The woman found another cab and reached home. Later, the journalist took up the issue with Ola and the cab aggregator assured that the driver will be suspended.

After the tweet thread went viral, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner Pant said that he was sorry to hear about the incident and the complaint of the woman has been noted. He said that he has asked DCP Central to arrest the culprit and they will also take the matter up with Ola for further action.