Bengaluru woman slams police for not helping teen brother when cab driver harassed him: 'Shaking with rage'

Mrinali Priyadarshni shared the number plate of the cab and added that her brother was shaken and disturbed by the incident. (Image credit: Mrinali Priyadarshni/LinkedIn)

A woman in Bengaluru has hit out at the city police for not helping her 18-year-old brother when he approached them after being harassed by a cab driver who demanded Rs 2,200 extra fare and threatened to harm the boy if he didn't comply. The incident happened around 2 am on Sunday and the woman said she was "shaking with rage" as she shared the story.

"I'm literally shaking with rage, fear, and anger as I type this," Mrinali Priyadarshni, a lead copywriter with Swiggy, wrote on LinkedIn tagging the Bengaluru City Police. "My 18-year-old brother landed at Bangalore International Airport Ltd around midnight and tried multiple times to book a cab through OLA Cabs, Uber, and Rapido, but he failed. Left with no choice, he booked an Airport taxi to his PG in Yelahanka. The driver agreed to the fare shown on the Rapido app, which was around Rs 800."

Once seated in the cab, the driver asked the boy if he was a local and then chose a longer 24-km route than the direct 19-km one, Priyadarshni alleged. Moreover, in the middle of the ride, the driver stopped the car, stepped out, and demanded Rs 3,000. "[He] said that if my brother didn’t pay, he would beat him up and take him to his friends, who would do god knows what to him," Priyadarshni said. "My brother is just 18 years old, a college student and this was happening around 2 am, in a completely deserted area, with no one around to help him."

When the boy refused to pay and argued why he should give Rs 3,000 when they had already agreed on Rs 800, the driver allegedly said, "Because I want it. Aur agar tu paise nahi dega to mai tere ko apne friend ke ghar leke jaunga aur tu fir dekh wahan tere saath kya hota hai (If you don't pay up, I'll take you to my friend's house and then you see what happens to you)."

That's when the boy spotted police officers on two patrol scooters and asked them for help but the officers only said that the driver can’t charge Rs 3,000 and asked the boy to go to the police station with the driver and resolve the issue.

When the teen told them he couldn't go with the driver because he didn’t feel safe with him and said that he would like to go with the officers, the policemen allegedly left the spot.

"Bengaluru City Police abandoned an 18-year-old kid in the middle of the night with a man who had just threatened him. Where is the justice? Where is the support system? What kind of police force ignores a scared, stranded teenager and leaves him at the mercy of a criminal?" Priyadarshni asked, demanding the officers responsible be held accountable.

She added that her brother was ultimately dropped off at his PG once he paid Rs 3,000. The boy was shaken but safe. She also shared the cab's number plate .

Responding to this incident, authorities from the Bengaluru airport reached out to Priyadarshni.

Moneycontrol has reached out to the Bengaluru Police for a statement. This story will be updated once they respond.

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