Ola driver arrested for molesting Belgian

An Ola cab driver was arrested for allegedly molesting a Belgian tourist in the city on Saturday as external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj asked lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung for a report on the incident.

Ms Swaraj said the Modi government was committed to the safety of all foreign nationals in the country. “I have asked Delhi lieutenant-governor for a report on the molestation of a Belgian girl by a cab driver,” she posted on Twitter. “We are committed to the safety and security of all foreign nationals in India.”

The 23-year-old Belgian woman, who identified herself as a translator, was on a 90-day tourist visa in India after completing her post-graduation from a Brussels university.

The accused driver, Balraj Singh of Rajasthan’s Alwar district, was arrested in an early morning raid at his Gurgaon residence on Sunday. The accused, who lived alone in Gurgaon’s Sector 4, was driving a cab for Ola for over a year now. His family lives in his native village.

A city court sent him to 14 days in judicial custody after the woman recognised him in the test identification parade. The prompt arrest and the parade enabled the Belgian tourist to go ahead with her return journey to her country on Sunday as per her original schedule.

The woman had hired the Ola cab from MGF Mall in Gurgaon to C.R. Park around 5.30 pm on Saturday. Claiming that his GPS had stopped functioning, the driver stopped the cab mid-way and told the woman to sit besides him.

The woman alleged that Singh suddenly pinned her down and kissed her despite her protests. When she demanded that he let her alight from the cab, the driver dropped her in Govindpuri. From there, she telephoned her female friend and the police was subsequently informed and a FIR was registered around midnight.

The Southeast district police constituted three teams to nab the suspect after the victim’s statement was recorded at her friend’s home in C.R. Park late on Saturday. “We sought the registration number of the cab from the Ola authorities after which we tracked down the vehicle owner. He revealed the driver’s address. The driver was surprised to see us land at his home. He was subsequently arrested and his vehicle seized,” a senior investigator said.

The taxi aggregator said in a statement that the accused driver had been sacked. Ola Cabs said Singh had been terminated from service immediately after his alleged crime came to their notice. “We will share all required information with the authorities to help resolve this for the customer,” Ola said in a statement.

The Opposition on Sunday attacked the Kejriwal government over the incident. Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit claimed there has been a spike in crimes against women under the AAP regime. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta alleged that the AAP government had gone back on its promises on women’s safety.

“Be it molestation or rape, Delhi has seen an increase in such crimes and they have risen all the more under the Kejriwal dispensation. I want him and his ministers to focus on women’s security. Where else will women feel safe if not the national capital ” asked Mrs Dikshit.

Mr Gupta reminded chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of his poll promises, including installation of CCTV cameras and deploying marshals in buses. “Have they implemented a single measure in reality They are always in a confrontationist mode,” said the BJP MLA.

Mrs Dikshit added that Mr Kejriwal had repeatedly raised similar issues during her tenure to criticise her. “We are waiting for him to take some steps in this regard.”

Interestingly, the AAP demanded a complete ban on the unlicensed app-based taxi services, particularly Ola and Uber in the entire national capital region, till taxi providers agree to comply with safety standards and regulations. The AAP said there must be a coordinated and severe crackdown in the entire NCR to ensure there will be no compromise on women’s safety.

The attack on the Belgian woman, said the ruling AAP, highlights the danger of these unregulated taxi services. “Repeated incidents of sexual assaults on women passengers by drivers registered with Ola and Uber, make it clear that these taxi aggregator companies are still not doing due diligence before registering drivers on their apps. Women’s safety cannot be compromised at any cost and all the state governments in the National Capital Region — Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — must show zero tolerance on this issue.”

The party added that these firms cannot be allowed to bring a bad name to India.