Student fights off groping auto driver

22-year-old woman hits back at rickshaw driver and escapes after he stops vehicle at isolated spot late in the night, flings chilli powder in her eyes and grips her arms

A fun-filledu00a0evening outing with friends turned into a nightmare for Amrita Preet Kaur, a 22-year-old from Hyderabad pursuing higher studies in the city, when the driver of an autorickshaw she was returning home in flung chilli powder in her eyes and attempted to molest her at an isolated spot.


It happened here: Amrita Preet Kaur shows the spot where the
auto driver halted and attempted to molest her on Senapati
Bapat Road. pic/Jignesh Mistry

Showing great presence of mind and courage, Kaur hit back and escaped from the vehicle before asking a passer-by to take her to a hospital. Kaur, an MSc student, was out with friends for dinner at a popular restaurant on Fergusson College Road on Thursday evening. Around 10 pm, the group split up and she decided to return to her rented accommodation at Deep Bungalow Chowk, off Senapati Bapat Road.

"I couldn't see a single auto and decided to walk. Some distance ahead, I saw an auto headed in the opposite direction and I hailed it. The driver stopped the auto and agreed to take me. The irony is that I counted myself lucky he had agreed to come such a short distance," she said.

According to Kaur, the driver took the BMCC College road to head towards her destination but stopped opposite the Passport Office near Symbiosis International University. "He got off and went to the front of the vehicle and pretended he was checking something.

Then he went behind the auto. I looked at the meter and decided to get off as I was beginning to feel uneasy; the area was very dark and there was no vehicle in sight. But before I could do anything, he came back and removed some packet from under his seat and jumped into the backseat with me," she said. The driver flung the open packet, which contained chilli powder, at her face. The powder got into her eyes, nose and mouth and she started choking on it.

"He caught me by the arms very tightly. I don't think his intention was theft as I was holding my mobile phone in my hand but he paid no attention to it. He was more interested in grabbing me. But I managed to push him hard and get out of the auto. I began running towards Symbiosis University, hoping to get help," Kaur said.
According to Kaur, about 50 metres on she met a girl on a bicycle and begged her to help her. By that time, the auto driver had sped off.

"The girl got me a bottle of water from the college canteen and washed my face. She told me it was chilli powder as I didn't even know what had happened to me. I pleaded with her to take me to a hospital and she informed my friends and got me admitted," Kaur said.

At the hospital, Kaur was admitted for close to two hours and her eyes, face and body parts were washed, flushed with saline water and medicines were administered. After that, she requested to be let off so that she could go home.

Kaur is yet to lodge a police complaint in this regard. According to her, the hospital authorities made her sign an undertaking stating that she would not lodge a police case about the incident. "I don't know why they wanted it, but I wasn't in a good state and simply signed the papers. My friend was asked to submit those papers, actually, and she was looking after all the hospital work. Now I don't know the legal implications of those documents," Kaur said.

Authorities at Ratna Memorial Hospital, where Kaur said she was taken, denied any document of the sort was required to be signed by patients.u00a0 "It is not our policy to get such documents signed and I don't know why any staffer would have done it," hospital administrator Vilas Datar said.

Drivers have to display I-card
Nana Kshirsagar, president, Maharashtra Rickshaw Sena, said, "When Satyapal Singh was police commissioner, he had introduced a rule where every auto driver had to compulsorily wear his identity card around his neck. Also, the meter should prominently display the auto number. But as these steps weren't introduced through any GR or ruling, and because he got transferred, this isn't being implemented well. Had the girl seen any of these numbers, we could have nabbed the culprit." Deputy Regional Transport Officer Sanjay Dhaygude said the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) had last year passed a resolution that mandated auto drivers should display an enlarged photocopy of the I-card along with the tarriff card on the driver's backrest so that these would be visible to passengers.

Voices
Most rickshaw drivers in Pune aren't very friendly. For a girl it's especially risky to travel alone at night. The road outside Symbiosis Vishwabhavan gets lonely after 9 pm and girls have to ensure they move in groups to be safe. This isn't the first incident that has taken place here. Most Symbyites who live in this area will agree with this
ufffd Pallavi Nanda, LLB student, Symbiosis Law School

Yes, such incidents do happen, but that does not mean the entire area is unsafe. I agree that the road does become deserted in the evening.
ufffd Sindura Wagh, second-year BCom, Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce