more-in Mumbai: The Shivaji Park police have arrested a driver with app-based taxi service Ola for allegedly flashing a 30-year-old female passenger in his taxi on Tuesday. According to the police, the incident occurred around 3 p.m. in the Shivaji Park area on Tuesday. The victim, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, is in the city seeking employment and is temporarily staying in Andheri. Police said the woman booked an Ola Share cab from Andheri to Parel, where she was going to appear for a job interview. The two other passengers were dropped off before the cab reached Shivaji Park, leaving the victim alone in the vehicle. “When the victim looked up from her cell phone, she saw that the driver had unzipped his pants and was flashing his private parts at her,” said an officer with the Shivaji Park police. The woman immediately made the driver stop the cab, and got out of the vehicle. The driver sped away. The commotion attracted the attention of passers-by, who advised her to approach the police. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) Rajiv Jain, said, “The victim had noted down the licence plate number of the cab, which she gave us. Using the number, we contacted the customer care centre of the company and obtained details of the driver. We then sent a team to his residence in Thane to pick him up.” The driver, identified as Arun Tiwari (40), was subsequently placed under arrest on Tuesday night. He has been charged with outraging a woman’s modesty under the Indian Penal Code, and the police are now finding out if he has committed similar crimes in the past. A statement released by Ola on Wednesday said, “Ola has zero tolerance for such behaviour and we have blacklisted the driver with immediate effect as soon as the issue was reported to us. We have extended full support to the customer and relevant authorities for further investigation. Safety of customers is paramount to us at all times.” This is not the first time that Ola drivers have run afoul of the law in Mumbai. In February, the Anti Extortion Cell of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch had arrested three accused in connection with an attempt to intimidate the owner of a seafood restaurant chain in Vile Parle at the behest of wanted fugitive Ravi Pujari. One of them had fired a gunshot outside the outlet. The police found that the accused who fired the gun was employed as an Ola driver in spite of having multiple criminal cases against him. The accused, Mrityunjay Das (36), had been arrested by the State Anti Terrorism Squad in an Arms Act case, by the Marine Drive police in a robbery case and in Kerala in an Arms Act case over the last two years.

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