BPO worker raped in Jarcha, police arrest cab driver, aide

The police arrested an Ola cab driver and his friend in the early hours of Friday for allegedly raping a 25-year-old woman in Greater Noida’s Jarcha on Thursday night.

However, the cab was not booked through the application as the cab driver and the victim were known to each other, said the police.

The driver has been identified as Ashok. His friend, who has allegedly raped the woman, was identified as Praveen.

“In her complainant, she [the victim] stated that she had called the cab driver to Sector 126 to travel to Surajpur in Greater Noida at 4.30 p.m. on Thursday evening, and when she boarded the cab another passenger (Praveen) was already aboard,” said Nishank Sharma, Circle Officer (Dadri).

Sedative-laced drink

The trio then went to Sector 18 where the victim first met a friend after which they left for Surajpur, the police said. On the way, they had soft drinks, which the woman alleged were laced with sedatives, after which the driver requested the woman to allow him to drop Praveen at Jarcha first. The victim, unaware of their plan, agreed to it.

“Ashok took them to a deserted location in Daya Nagar forest in Jarcha at 8.30 p.m. He dropped Praveen and later requested her to wait there, assuring her that he would finish off his work and come back soon. Half an hour later, when the woman tried to call up the driver his number was not reachable. Suddenly, Praveen started to force himself on her. She added that he forcibly dragged her into the bushes and raped her,” said Mr. Sharma.

Medical examination

The woman somehow managed to escape from the clutches of the accused at around 12 a.m. and called up the police control room.

However, by the time the police reached the spot the accused had fled. The victim was taken to a district hospital where her medical examination was done. A search operation was launched and four to five people were detained during the initial investigation.

“Ashok and Praveen were traced and nabbed. They have been booked under Sections 120B [punishment of criminal conspiracy], 376 [punishment of rape] and 328 [causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence] of the Indian Penal Code,” added Mr. Sharma.

Ola regrets incident

Meanwhile, Ola has issued a statement saying that they regret the “unfortunate” incident, adding that they would like to clarify that the ride was not booked through their application.