This story is from October 14, 2019

Taxi horror: Techie harassed by cabby and aides near Howrah station

A 23-year-old software engineer, who was returning home from a family vacation in Bangalore, had a horrific experience on Sunday morning after the driver of a yellow cab at Howrah station allegedly took her to a desolate area and made her sit in the car for over 45 minutes, surrounded by a group of men ogling and passing remarks at her. The woman dialled 100 and came out of the car leaving her trolley bag behind. Later, cops rescued her, seized the taxi and detained the driver.
Taxi horror: Techie harassed by cabby and aides near Howrah station
Representative image
KOLKATA: A 23-year-old software engineer, who was returning home from a family vacation in Bangalore, had a horrific experience on Sunday morning after the driver of a yellow cab at Howrah station allegedly took her to a desolate area and made her sit in the car for over 45 minutes, surrounded by a group of men ogling and passing remarks at her. The woman dialled 100 and came out of the car leaving her trolley bag behind.
Later, cops rescued her, seized the taxi and detained the driver.
The incident happened around 7.15am when Sirsha Mukherjee was waiting at the pre-paid taxi counter outside Howrah station. She and her parents had just got down from a train. While her parents went to catch another train to their home town at Berhampore, Mukherjee was to take a taxi to reach her PG accommodation in Salt Lake.
“There was a long queue at the counter when this man approached me and asked me if I would avail a metered taxi. He said the ride would cost me Rs 300. I agreed and sat in the back seat. Soon, he said there was a traffic jam in the Burrabazar area and suggested to take another route. He then began driving towards Foreshore Road,” said Mukherjee.
The driver, however, stopped the car near the railway museum and told the woman that he would be back in two minutes.
“He came back with another man, whom he identified as a codriver, made him sit in the car and left again. I kept sitting there for several minutes as the man kept ogling at me. Soon, others joined in, who kept watching me from outside the taxi,” the woman wrote in the complaint.
The woman began panicking and asked the “co-driver” when they would start the car. Hearing her queries, this person left and asked another man to keep an eye on her. “Hearing this, I got scared. I somehow managed to get out of the car with my handbag. I found a railway banquet on the opposite side, went inside it and dialled 100 for help,” added Mukherjee.

Soon, her parents and cops of Howrah station traffic guard arrived at the spot. “As cops began questioning me, the other men left. I saw the original driver at a distance and informed the cops. When cops began questioning him, he lied, saying the car’s tyre had got punctured. Realising he was not speaking the truth, cops took us to the traffic guard office,” said Mukherjee.
A senior officer of the traffic guard said they have received the complaint and registered a case under pertinent sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
“The taxi driver was possibly looking for more passengers and trying to operate the car as a shuttle vehicle, which is illegal. We have booked him for registration violation and forwarded the complaint to Golabari police station,” said an officer.
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About the Author
Tamaghna Banerjee

Tamaghna Banerjee, a reporter from Kolkata, covers crime, aviation, human rights and politics. He has a keen interest in human interest and rural reporting. He has done his postgraduation in journalism and mass communication. He has a total of 14 years in journalism.

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