Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In a shameful incident, an autorickshaw driver misbehaved with a female passenger sitting in his vehicle by stripping off his trousers in front of her at Panchavati Chowk on Friday morning.
A 17-year-old girl from Waluj, who is in her third year at a renowned polytechnic college in the city, regularly commutes from Waluj to Mahavir Chowk and then takes another auto to reach her college. On Friday, after getting off the city bus at Mahavir Chowk around 7.40 am near Baba Petrol Pump, she boarded an auto-rickshaw. The auto driver began asking her personal questions about her family, such as whether her leg hurt, if there were financial difficulties at home, and even offered her money. The girl told him to stop the auto, but he did not comply. The incident took place at 8 am.
Auto driver fled after the girl raised alarm
As the auto was heading from Panchvati Chowk towards the railway station via Jai Tower, the driver suddenly lowered his pants partially and engaged in an obscene act. Seeing this, the girl got frightened and began to scream. The driver stopped the auto, and she immediately got out and moved away from it. Upon seeing her reaction, the auto driver sped away. The girl then contacted her family and informed them about the incident.
Investigation underway with CCTV footage
The girl mentioned the auto’s number to be MH 20-5668 when reporting to the police. She also mentioned that the driver appeared to be between 22 and 30 years old and spoke Hindi. After a complaint was filed at Vedantnagar police station, the police quickly began investigating using CCTV footage. “Two teams are searching for the auto driver and the accused will be arrested soon,” said the police inspector Praveena Yadav.
Who controls auto drivers?
Previously, there have been incidents in the city where auto drivers have committed obscene acts or robberies involving female passengers. Many criminals have now entered the auto-driving profession and engage in robberies at night. Citizens are expressing their anger because the city police have not taken serious action regarding these issues.