A 23-year-old Rapido taxi driver in Gurugram has been arrested on charges of masturbating in front of a female passenger while driving her to work, police said on Friday.
The complainant, a resident of Gurugram, works as a software engineer in a logistics company, and was reportedly traveling to work in the morning when the incident occurred.
A report published by news agency PTI identified the accused as Vijay Kumar, a resident of Panihari village in Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh.
The incident occurred around 8:15 am on Thursday when the woman booked a taxi through the Rapido app to travel to her office.
Shortly after the ride began, the driver allegedly unzipped his pants, exposed himself and began masturbating while the car was still moving, police said.
The woman recorded a video of the incident on her mobile phone and repeatedly asked the driver to stop the car. The source added that the accused fled the scene after getting out of the car.
Track the accused within hours
After exiting the cab, the woman informed the police control room and shared the video with responding police personnel.
Based on her complaint, an FIR was registered and the investigation was handed over to Inspector Suman, station house officer (SHO) of women police station in Sector 51, the police said.
Investigators then used technical surveillance and taxi booking details to track down Kumar. Officials said he was taken into custody from Gurugram’s Bhundsi area within two hours of the incident.
The agency’s report added that investigators said that the taxi used in the accident was seized and the accused will be brought before court on Saturday.
The police said that the accused admitted during interrogation that he was working as a taxi driver on the Rapido platform and that he had picked up the complainant on Thursday morning.
Police said they are continuing to investigate the case, including examining video evidence provided by the complainant and questioning the accused in connection with the incident.
