A 22-year-old woman was allegedly raped by the driver of an app-based bike taxi service and his friend in Bengaluru on 24 November, 2022. One more suspect, a woman, has been arrested by the police. She is allegedly the driver’s girlfriend and was present at the site where the assault happened.
The driver and his friend have been identified as Shahabuddin and Arafat Sharif respectively.
The case
As per a report by The Times of India, the woman told the police that on Friday night, she partied at her friend’s house in BTM layout. Then she booked a ‘Rapido’ bike taxi around 12.45 am to visit another friend’s house in the Electronic city area.
The bike driver, finding her drunk and not in her senses took, her to his house in Neeladrinagar where he allegedly raped her.
He was not alone in this act, as he called up one of his friends over. Both of them raped her. At the time when both of them assaulted her, a female friend of theirs was present in the house.
By then, the victim’s friend called her up in worry as she did not show up at their place. The driver’s girlfriend picked up the call and made up a story, that they had found her ‘unconscious’.
The victim’s friend believed the story, and came and took her with him.
The next day on 26 November, the woman visited a private hospital for a checkup as she was not feeling well. She complained of body-ache. The doctors in the hospital, suspecting a sexual assault, alerted the police.
The victim did not wish to register a police complaint, but as the matter was evident to the medical team, they informed the police.
The police took the complaint from the woman and arrested all the accused.
Shahabuddin, a native of Bihar, lives in Bengaluru for work while his friend Arafat work at a mobile shop.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy had been quoted by the newspaper as saying,“The woman had hired a ‘Rapido’ bike to go from one friend’s house to another. On the way, the bike driver took advantage and has taken her to his place, where he along with his friend raped her. There was another woman along with them during the crime, who cooperated and then tried to hush it up.”
He continued, “The police immediately registered the complaint and came into action. They collected the samples from the spot with help of forensic experts. All the accused, including a female friend, have been arrested.”
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