A case has been registered against a cab driver and two unidentified men for allegedly sexually harassing a 28-year-old airline pilot during a late-night ride in Mumbai, police officers said on Saturday.
The incident occurred around 11.15 pm on Thursday, when the pilot was on her way home to Ghatkopar from South Mumbai, an officer said, according to news agency PTI.
The woman told police that her husband, who is a Navy officer, stays in a Navy residential complex as he has not yet received government accommodation. Meanwhile, she resides separately in Ghatkopar.
Following dinner at a restaurant in South Mumbai on Thursday night, her husband booked a cab service operated by a private aggregator for her to return home, PTI reported.
About 25 minutes into the ride, the cab driver allegedly changed the route and picked up two additional men, the complainant said in her statement to police.
“One of them, who sat in the backseat next to her, touched her inappropriately,” the complaint further said. “When she yelled at him, he threatened her, but the cab driver did not intervene,” the officer said, citing the first information report (FIR) in the case.
Later, upon noticing a police checkpoint ahead on the highway, both the male passengers reportedly fled the vehicle.
The woman said she reached home safely but received no explanation from the driver when asked why he had allowed the men to enter the cab, PTI reported.
She narrated the incident to her husband the next morning, after which the couple approached the Ghatkopar Police and filed a complaint.
Based on her statement, an FIR was registered under sections 75(1) (sexual harassment), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Further investigation is underway, the police added.
(With PTI inputs)
