Cabbie caught masturbating while staring at techie in moving vehicle; arrested

Pune: A 20-year-old cab driver was arrested by the Khadki police on Sunday after a software engineer from a Kalyaninagar-based company lodged a complaint of sexual harassment against him.
According to the woman, the cabbie was masturbating while staring at her in the rear-view mirror as he drove the cab along Sangamwadi Road around 7.30pm on Feb 21.
Inspector Gajanan Chormale of the Khadki police said, "We have arrested cab driver Sumit Kumar, who hails from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. He shifted a few days ago to Pimpri Chinchwad from Mumbai, where he was working earlier."
Chormale added, "The 41-year-old techie had hired the cab through a prominent aggregator app for returning home to Pimple Saudagar from her office. She told the police that the cab took the route via Shahdawal Baba Chowk and Sangamwadi Road towards Patil Estate Chowk, emerging on the Pune-Mumbai highway."
The officer said, "The complainant said that en route, she realised the cab driver had adjusted the rear-view mirror and was masturbating while staring at her. When the cab reached the highway and stopped at a traffic junction on the way to Khadki, she hurriedly stepped out. The woman was annoyed and disturbed by his actions."
According to Chormale, the woman then walked to Khadki police station and reported the incident. "We immediately took down her complaint and started a hunt for the cab and its driver. The cabbie had driven ahead and stopped on the highway side. He left the vehicle and ran away."
A police team tracked down the vehicle to the highway and based on the booking details and vehicle registration number, found the cab owner. Eventually, they arrested the driver.
A case has been registered against the cabbie under sections 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).